By Gwen Albers

Tidewater News

FRANKLIN — What looked like it could be a close game quickly changed its pace as Franklin defeated Colonial Beach 45-12 on Friday night to advance to the Division 1 Region A finals.

“We had a great week of practice and we executed,” Bronco Coach Darren Parker said after the game at Armory Field.

During the first eight minutes of play, the Broncos and Drifters took turns scoring touchdowns. With 4:12 left in the first quarter, Franklin led 13-12.

By the end of the first half, the Broncos extended that lead to 45-12. Neither team scored in the second half.

No. 1 seeded Franklin, 10-1, will host the Region A finals at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27, against either Sussex Central or Charles City. With one minute left in Friday night’s game, Sussex Central led Charles City 52-44. The Broncos defeated Sussex Central 12-6 two weeks ago.

No. 4 seeded Colonial Beach finishes the season with a 6-5 record. The Drifters placed third in the Northern Neck District.

Franklin seniors Martinez Hill and Trey Kigler scored two touchdowns apiece. Hill led his team in rushing, carrying the ball 144 yards on 19 carries. Bronco senior Melquan Mitchell added 101 yards on eight carries.

For the Drifters, senior Timmy Jackson led with 147 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Colonial Beach scored first on a three-yard run by senior Damien Eiras. Josh Sanford’s kick failed.

Franklin ran the ball to the 45-yard line after the kickoff. Hill then carried it seven times in a row for 55 yards, scoring on a one-yard run with 6:31 left in the first quarter. Antone Bland’s kick was good, giving the Broncos a 7-6 lead.

The Drifters responded less than two minutes later as Jackson scored on a three-yard run. The two-point conversion failed, and the Drifters led 12-7.

On the kickoff, Franklin’s Justin Grant returned a touchdown for 70 yards with 4:12 left in the quarter. The two-point conversion failed, giving Franklin a 13-12 lead.

Kigler scored next on a 53-yard run with 39 seconds left in the first quarter. Mitchell ran in for two points.

With 5:46 left in the half, Mitchell scored on a 35-yard run and picked up the two-point conversion. Kigler almost repeated Mitchell’s performance with a 31-yard touchdown run two minutes later. Senior Justin Boone picked up the two-point conversion, making the score 37-12.

The final score of the game came with 1:11 left in the first half when Grant scored on a 65-yard punt return. Hill added two points to make the score 45-12.

Franklin had 19 first downs to Colonial Beach’s 16. The Broncos rushed for 383 yards to the Drifters’ 259. Total yards on offense were 381 for Franklin and 268 for Colonial Beach.

The Drifters had four penalties for 25 yards, while Franklin was penalized 70 yards for eight offenses.

Hill, Mitchell and Lavon Evans each made six tackles. Jackson led with seven tackles for the Drifters.