By Frank Davis
Tidewater News

FRANKLIN—Being 0-3 in the Tri-Rivers District and 3-6 overall, Windsor had nothing to lose as it made a run at Franklin Friday at Armory Drive Football Stadium.

It wasn’t until in the fourth quarter before the Broncos pulled away from Windsor to seal first place in the Tri-Rivers District with a 44-27 win.

“God is great,” was Franklin Coach Darren Parker’s reaction to the win and title. “We will enjoy this win and get ready for next week.”

Franklin (9-1) is the No. 1 seed going into the Division 1, Region A playoffs and will host No. 4 Colonial Beach (6-4).

Bronco Martinez Hill rushed for 111 yards and teammate Melquan Mitchell added 115.

For the Dukes, R.J. Edwards rushed for 173 yards and quarterback Austin Winkles, another 82 yards.

The Broncos took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards before scoring on a 1-yard run by Hill with 8:44 left in the first quarter.

After holding on downs after Windsor crossed midfield, the Broncos started on their 30 and moved the ball at will. Mitchell scored on a 26-yard run and added the 2-point conversion. Franklin held a 14-0 lead after a quarter.

The Dukes cranked up their offense in the second quarter with a mixture of runs and passing to advance the ball to the red zone. After a 5-yard offside penalty by the Broncos and a carry by Duke quarterback Austin Winkles to the 1-yard line, Oris Bowers carried the ball over for the touchdown. Winkles booted the extra point, and the Dukes trailed 14-7 with 8:50 remaining in the half.

On the Dukes’ kickoff, they did an onside kick and it was recovered by Windsor’s Colt Copeland.

“I wanted the kids to play loose and have some fun,” said Windsor head coach Chuck Parrish.

Windsor moved the ball again, but a Winkles’ pass was picked off by Franklin’s Lavon Evans.

On this Bronco possession, quarterback Trey Kigler broke free on a 51-yard touchdown run. Mitchell completed the 2-point conversion, and the Broncos increased their led to 22-7 with 6:26 left in the half.

The Dukes opened the third quarter with the ball and a fake punt, a completed pass to Copeland, kept the drive going. Reaching the red zone following a Winkles run, Edwards scored on a 4-yard run cutting Franklin’s lead to 22-13.

Franklin answered by taking time off the clock and scoring on a 10-yard run by Evans. Hill scored the 2-point conversion and the Broncos led 30-13.

Windsor’s next possession saw runs by Winkles, Edwards and help from Bronco penalties that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by Winkles. The 2-point conversion was good, and the Dukes cut the led to 30-21 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.

After both teams were stopped on downs in the final quarter, Justin Grant dove over the goal on a 24-yard run, and Kigler added the 2-point conversion.

With 3:09 remaining, Mitchell intercepted a Winkles pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. The Broncos increased the score to 44-21.

Leading in tackles was Bowers for the Dukes with 12 and Kigler for the Broncos with six.