COLONIAL BEACH—It was old-fashioned, smash-mouth football played on a dusty field on the banks of the Potomac Friday night.

But for the Colonial Beach Drifters, it wasn’t three yards and a cloud of dust. It was more like 211 yards and a flash of lightning.

Colonial Beach running back Brandon Fraser ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the third quarter to lead the Drifters to a to a 37-21 win over Franklin, making a long bus ride to east of Fredericksburg for the previously unbeaten Broncos seem even longer. The non-district loss dropped Franklin to 4-1 heading into its Tri-Rivers District opener against Surry County at home Friday. Colonial Beach won its third straight game after dropping its first two.

Franklin led at the half 15-8 before the wheels came off in the second half.

&uot;We didn’t get it done,&uot; said Franklin Head Coach Darren Parker. &uot;As a head coach, I take this one on me. We’re not going to make any excuses. We have a long season ahead of us. We have to go back and regroup — and roll ahead next week.&uot;

Trailing by a touchdown at the half, Colonial Beach caught that lightning in the second, scoring 25 unanswered points.

Foster rushed for touchdowns of 14, 42 and 10 yards in the third quarter and also threw a 47-yard pass on a halfback option that set up another score.

Franklin was ineffective offensively in the second half, managing just 64 yards.

Injuries took out some key Franklin offensive weapons. Elliot Bottoms, who had rushed four times but gained 44 yards, left the game with a shoulder injury. Melquan Mitchell was carted off the field with a leg injury.

Franklin got ahead early but couldn’t hold its lead. Antonio Smith scored the game’s first touchdown on a five-yard run with 6:10 left in the first quarter. James Jervey’s kick made it 7-0.

Colonial Beach took the lead when Terry Bushrod broke through the line and scored from 26 yards out with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. Foster’s two-point conversion run made it an 8-7 Colonial Beach lead.

On its next series, Franklin moved the ball 64 yards in nine plays before Swendell Stephens hit pay dirt from 10 yards out with 9:34 to go in the half. Antonio Smith fell forward into the end zone for the two-point conversion that gave Franklin a 15-8 lead before the bottom dropped out.

Colonial Beach could have taken a lead into halftime, but two penalties and a determined Franklin defense said otherwise.

Colonial Beach moved from its own 43 to the Franklin 7 before an offsides penalty and an illegal-motion penalty killed the drive. The Drifters moved the ball again to the Franklin 9, but a halfback option pass fell incomplete, allowing Franklin to run out the clock and take that halftime lead.

Donzell Shearin and Josh Willis each had first-half interceptions for Franklin.

&uot;The true mark of a champion,&uot; said Franklin’s Parker, &uot;is how well you bounce back from adversity.&uot;