FRANKLIN—Being 0-3 in the Tri-Rivers District and 3-6 overall, Windsor had nothing to lose as it made a run at Franklin Friday night at Armory Drive Football Stadium.

It wasn’t until in the fourth quarter before the Broncos pulled away from Windsor to seal first place in the Tri-Rivers District with a 44-27 win.

“God is great,” was Franklin Coach Darren Parker’s reaction to the win and title. “We will enjoy this win and get ready for next week.”

Parker said Franklin may play Colonial Beach in the first round of the playoffs.

Bronco Martinez Hill rushed 111 yard and teammate Melquan Mitchell added 115.

For the Dukes, R.J. Edwards rushed 173 yards and quarterback Austin Winkles, another 82 yards.

The Broncos took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards before scoring on a 1-yard run by Hill with 8:44 left in the first quarter. The kick by Antone Bland failed.

On the Dukes’ first possession, they crossed midfield before the Bronco defense held them, and the ball went over on downs.

Going back on offense, the Broncos started on their 30 and moved the ball at will and scored on a 26-yard run by Mitchell. He also added the 2-point conversion, and the Broncos were up 14-0.

The Dukes cranked up their offense in the second quarter with a mixture of runs and passes to advance the ball to the red zone. After a 5-yard offside penalty by the Broncos and a carry by Duke quarterback Austin Winkles to the 1-yard line, Oris Bowers carried the ball over for the first Duke touchdown. Winkles booted the extra point, and the Dukes trailed 14-7 with 8:50 remaining in the half.

On the Dukes’ kickoff, they did an onside kick and it was recovered by Windsor’s Colt Copeland.

“I wanted the kids to play loose and have some fun,” said Windsor Head Coach Chuck Parrish.

The Dukes back again on offense moved the ball a few times, but a Winkles’ pass was picked off by Lavon Evans of the Broncos.

On this Bronco possession, quarterback Trey Kigler broke free on a 51-yard touchdown run. Mitchell completed the 2-point conversion, and the Broncos increased their lead to 22-7 with 6:26 left in the half.

The Dukes opened the third quarter with the ball and soon were forced to punt. But in punt formation, Windsor faked the punt and passed to Copeland for a first down. Reaching the red zone following a Winkles run,  Edwards scored on a 4-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed, and the Broncos still led 22-13 with 8:14 remaining in the third quarter.

On the next Bronco possession, the team ate over four minutes off the clock and scored on a 10-yard run by Evans. Hill scored on the 2-point conversion, and the Broncos led  30-13.

The Dukes’ next possession saw runs by Winkles and Edwards, and help from Bronco penalties that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by Winkles. The 2-point conversion was good, and the Dukes cut the lead to 30-21 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.

After both teams were stopped on downs in the final quarter, Justin Grant dove over the goal on a 24-yard run, and Kigler added the 2-point conversion. The score advanced the Broncos to 38-21.

With 3:09 remaining in the game, Mitchell intercepted a Winkles’ pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. The Bland kick sailed wide, and the Broncos increased the score to 44-21.

With time running out in the game and for the season, Edwards added the last points of the game on an 11-yard touchdown run. Windsor’s 2-point conversion failed.

Leading in tackles were Oris Bowers for the Dukes with 12 and Kigler for the Broncos with 6.

Parrish said his team made a great effort.

“The game was tight, and we tried a few things as an onside kick and a fake punt,” he said.