FRANKLIN—It looked like it was going to be a big battle of Titans as the Charles City County Panthers faced off with the Franklin Broncos Friday night at Armory Park football stadium. But in the end, the Broncos were the only team left standing with a 45-0 win in a Tri-Rivers District battle.

The Panthers looked very impressive in the first quarter as they mixed running with passing to move the ball into Bronco territory on several drives.

“We did our homework,” remarked Franklin head coach Darren Parker. “We knew they were going to throw the ball.”

The Panthers threw the ball more than any team that has been at Armory Park in years. Panther quarterback Trevor Jones was 12 for 28 in passing for 94 yards. On the ground the Broncos held the Panthers to 34 yards.

Unlike last week’s game that went into the final quarter before the Bronco offense scored, this week they cranked it up early in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by Melquan Mitchell. Mitchell also ran the 2-point conversion to put the Broncos up 8-0.

Although the Broncos were plagued with many penalties, Franklin’s big running machines came right back to offset the yards lost. The Broncos were penalized 11 times during the game for 92 yards.

The Broncos big ground gainer, Martinez Hill, carried the next score over in the second quarter as he powered his way through the Panther defense for a 66-yard TD. Hill also carried the 2-point conversion over and the Broncos were up 16-0 with 8:57 left in the half.

The Broncos added two more touchdowns in the first half on a 5-yard run by Davell Newsome and a 5-yard pass from Trey Kigler to Derek Boone.

At the half, the Broncos had the lead at 32–0. The Broncos scored early in the third quarter as back-up quarterback Delvontae Boone went to the air and connected with Justin Grant for a 53-yard TD. The 2-point conversion failed, but the Broncos were up 38–0 and now had a running clock.

The Bronco defense added 6 more points to the score as Shaquan Cook picked off a Panther pass and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. The Broncos, working on their kicking game, sent in Lavon Evans who kicked the extra point.

Hill was the Broncos leading rusher with 100 yards followed by Newsome with 56 yards. The Broncos had some impressive numbers with 270 yards on the ground and 88 yards in the air. The Broncos will have an open date next Friday and will travel to Sussex Central on Nov. 6.