BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

FRANKLIN—Undefeated Franklin will host Covington at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, for the second round of the Virginia High School League Group A Division 1 Eastern section playoffs.

The Broncos are the No. 1 seed for the Eastern section playoffs with an 11-0 overall record and are coming off 56-9 victory over Craig County in the first round of the playoffs from Nov. 9.

“We are going into this week preparing like we do every week,” said Franklin Head Coach Darren Parker. “We are making sure that we are fundamentally sound and execute in all three phases of the game.”

The Cougars, who will travel 225 miles to get to Franklin, come in as the No. 9 seed with a 6-5 overall record, and upset No. 8 seed Rappahannock 51-28 on Nov. 9.

The Broncos will look to duplicate their offensive performance from last week when they rushed for a total of 252 yards with sophomore Marcus Stephens leading with 91 yards and sophomore Alson Cromwell adding 55 yards. On defense, junior Shane Walker led the Broncos with six tackles followed by senior Xavier Freeman with five tackles.

Parker says his team is excited to play Covington.

“We have been working out very hard this week, just like we always prepare,” he said.

The Broncos have outscored their opponents 608-154 this season, while the Cougars have outscored their opponents 332-274.

“We will have to execute well and not turn the ball over,” said Covington Head Football Coach Rod Tenney. “Franklin appears to be very quick and to put a lot of pressure on your offense, crowding the box with 11 people at times. Our team will have to perform very well in order to compete, but that is what we intend to do.”

Franklin will have to isolate Covington sophomore Luke Moye, who had four rushing touchdowns and a 24-yard passing touchdown in Covington’s win over Rappahannock.

Parker says it is a plus to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“We have a lot of support in the community, not just Franklin, but the whole community — Southampton, Suffolk, everywhere. It’s always great to play in front of a home crowd,” he said.

Franklin Tri-Rivers District rival No. 2 ranked Sussex Central, 10-1, will also play in the second round of the playoffs as it hosts No. 7 Parry McCluer High School, 7-4. Sussex comes into the game off a 14-10 victory over No. 15 Bath County, who ended their season at 3-8, while McCluer comes into the game from a 33-7 victory over Charles City, who ended their season at 5-6.