Colonial Beach scored on a short touchdown pass with 1.1 seconds left to beat Franklin 28-24 in a battle of Group A unbeatens Friday night.

“We will go back to work and prepare for next week’s game,” said Franklin coach Darren Parker, whose team played without five suspended players.

The Broncos, 4-1, led 28-22 late in the game when quarterback Donzell Shearin was intercepted while scrambling deep in his own territory.

The Drifters took over at the Bronco 22-yard line with 2:56 remaining. The FHS defense dug in and forced the Drifters into a fourth-and-2 situation, only to watch the visitors pick up the first down with 1:03 left.

Colonial Beach advanced to the Bronco 3, where the Drifters faced fourth-and-1 with time running out.

Taking a quick snap, the Drifters went to the air and scored with 1.1 seconds left.

A short kickoff by the Drifters ate up the remaining time.

It was homecoming for Franklin, which sought revenge for two 2007 losses to Colonial Beach, including a season-ending playoff defeat.

The Broncos came into the game ranked fourth in the Virginia High School League Group A power rankings. Colonial Beach was ranked sixth.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Drifters drew first blood early in the second on a 1-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion.

The visitors came back quickly and scored again on a 33-yard pass and two-point conversion to make it 16-0.

The Broncos, after big rushing yardage by Malik Brown and Antonio Smith, got their first points on a 12-yard run by Shearin. Brown ran for the two-point conversion and Franklin trailed 16-8 at halftime.

The Drifters opened the second-half scoring on a 44-yard pass and led 22-8.

The Broncos responded with a 33-yard touchdown run by Brown and a 6-yard TD by Smith to lead 24-22 after three quarters.

Brown led FHS with 98 yards rushing, while Shearin added 59. On defense, Smith had 9 tackles and Antonio Britt 8.