After Franklin High School’s 26-0 win over Sussex Central on Friday, the Broncos are now headed to the Group A Region Division 1 championship game against a team that has given them fits the last two seasons.

Franklin will travel to undefeated Colonial Beach for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

The Broncos lost twice to the Drifters last season and fell to Colonial Beach this year, 28-24, on the last play of the game on Oct. 3. That game, Franklin was missing five players due to suspension. This time around, the Broncos will have a full squad.

Franklin head coach Darren Parker gave the Broncos a day off Monday, with practice commencing Tuesday through Friday this week. If Parker’s “execution” speech sound like a repeat, it’s because week after week he drives it home that the team needs to execute in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams. And he is right. If you look at the games in which Franklin did that, it was a decisive victory. Presumably, with Colonial Beach undefeated so far, Saturday’s game will have to be near-perfect for the Broncos to bring home the regional championship.

“Every team you play in the playoffs is going to be good,” he said. “We are going to have to concentrate on continuing to execute.”

Last Friday night, Franklin’s offensive and defensive lines were near perfect compared to Oct. 31, when the Tigers thumped Franklin 32-6.

“Sussex has a great team and they are well-coached. For us to come out and execute as well as we did, it was great for us,” Parker said. “We have to turn right back around and do the same thing this week.”

This game could come down to defense. Franklin has scored the most points in one game (24) off Colonial Beach this season and is averaging over 35 points per game. The Drifters are allowing an average of only about 12 points per game, including three shutouts.

Franklin’s defense has allowed just 80 points this season, an average of just over 7 per game. The Broncos have seven shutouts, including two in a row.