When someone is named Dusty, the image of a cowboy can sometimes come to mind.

Well, Prep2Prep CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Junior of the Year Dusty Frampton of St. Mary’s-Stockton isn’t exactly a cowboy, but in some ways he works like one both on and off the field.

When the Prep2Prep Caravan saw Frampton come right out of the box with 265 yards and six touchdowns rushing in a 63-35 win on the road at Serra-San Mateo, it was pretty obvious Dusty had the tools to have a great season. As the primary back this year in an offense that mixes it up between passing and rushing, he was coming off a sophomore season where he rushed for 710 yards and 17 touchdowns.

After the Serra game when interviewing Rams Coach Tony Franks and remarking to him that Frampton ran like a bull, Franks smiled and said his family has cattle on their property in rural Linden around 10 miles east of the St. Mary’s campus.

After all was said and done the 5-11, 214-pound running back bulled his way to a Sac-Joaquin Section leading 2,345 yards and 42 TDs while missing a game and having his carries limited by Franks during a period in mid-season when he was a little dinged up and St. Mary’s wasn’t being challenged. He also had 156 yards receiving and two TDs to give him 44 total scores.

After the first two games when he had 21 carries against Serra and 21 carries for 194 yards and three TDs in a 49-32 win over Cardinal Newman, the most carries Frampton had until the playoffs were 17 on one occasion.

That all changed as the playoffs began to unfold. In the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs he had 16 carries for 130 yards and three TDs in a blowout of Modesto. Franks pretty much rested Frampton in another romp against Pitman-Turlock when he rushed 11 times for 59 yards without scoring.

Against Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, in a somewhat surprisingly easy 61-21 victory, Frampton had 16 carries for only 92 yards but four touchdowns. From that point on is when Franks went to his bull.

In the SJS D1 title game and in a re-match with a Folsom team that had beaten the Rams 56-49 in last year’s SJS D1 semifinals, Frampton was instrumental in turning the tide, this time helping bring home a 56-25 win at Sacramento State by rushing 30 times for 283 yards and three touchdowns.

“That Folsom game was the one we really wanted and it brought the best out of everyone, particularly Dusty,” Franks said. “We needed his strength and toughness.”

Six days later in the CIF Northern Regional Division 1-AA Bowl Game, Frampton won the duel with Freedom - and Fresno State-committed - running back Ronnie Rivers, and big time. Rivers, who finished the season with 2,239 yards and 33 TDs, only managed 102 yards on 26 carries with one score.

St. Mary’s needed everything Dusty could muster in a 49-40 Rams home win over the Falcons, and he responded with season-highs of 37 carries and 359 yards with five touchdowns.

In the CIF State Division 1-AA Bowl Game it was a fight to the finish in a game with three ties and three lead changes, and with the third tie sending it to overtime for only the second time since the CIF re-instituted state championships in football in 2006.

In the end the Rams lost 38-35 in overtime with Frampton finishing with 169 yards on 33 carries with one score against a Cathedral Catholic-San Diego team that keyed on him all game.

In fact, most analysts and media in the press box at the game felt the biggest factor in the outcome was when Frampton got knocked out of the game in the late fourth quarter with an arch problem and did not return. Without him Franks didn’t have the running attack to close out the game both near the end of regulation when they were in the red zone and in overtime where they couldn’t score.

The humble young man he is Frampton didn’t really want to acknowledge his being in there at the end might have been the deal maker.

“We have nothing to be disappointed about. It was a great season that came down to the last minute and a couple of mistakes hurt us.”

“He’s a humble kid,” Franks said. “You can tell when he scores a touchdown he just hands the ball to the official and lines up.”

All in all it was a great season for St. Mary’s and Frampton who now adds the Prep2Prep honor to being named a MaxPreps Junior All-American while also being named to several All-Section teams to go with some local honors.

“It does feel good to be honored,” Frampton remarked. “All the hard work in the off-season and during the season, it’s great to see its paying off.”

Frampton is certainly not the only Rams star and several of his teammates have already received honors and will also be honored by Prep2Prep.

“I love my teammates,” Frampton said. “We really bonded well. We’re more than just friends, we’re family.”

Hard work is the key

Frampton is a solid student with around a 3.0 GPA, so it’s obvious he works hard in the classroom as well as on the field and in the weight room, but what about those cattle out in Linden?

“We do have cattle out our house and I work with the cattle, such as transporting them from one place to another. We have goats too,” Frampton said.

“The Frampton’s are hard working folks,” Franks remarked. “The dad works hard and Dusty works hard.”

St. Mary’s loses a lot of seniors but veteran coach Franks always has kids waiting in the wings, and there’s one position he doesn’t have to worry about because his hard-working bull of a running back is back.

Congratulations to Dusty Frampton, the Prep2Prep Sac-Joaquin Section Junior of the Year.