FRANKLIN
The Franklin High School Broncos after dropping their first two games of the season, got a big W in a game against the Charles City County High School Panthers on Friday at Armory Drive Football Stadium.

The Broncos opened the game in the first quarter of play with a 10-yard td run by Lasean Nichols-Porter. The two-point conversion failed on a run by Bronco QB Logan Pearson-Hines.

The Broncos’ next score came on a 35-yard td pass from QB Pearson-Hines to Drelyn Ford. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and the Broncos were up 12-0.

On the next Panther possession, the Broncos forced a punt, in which Nichols-Porter returned for a 55-yard td. The two-point conversion failed and the first quarter ended with the home team ahead 18-0.

The Panthers on their next possession fumbled the ball and the Broncos recovered it. Pearson-Hines, faced with a fourth and long, went to the air and connected with Ford, who battled with a Panther defender for a 50-yard reception. This set up another pass by Pearson-Hines to Ra’sean Rawlings for a 15-yard td. Da-Shaun Butts ran the ball over the goal line for the two-point conversion to put the home team ahead 26-0.

The Broncos seemed to be headed to an easy win as the score was 26-0 with only seconds on the clock for the first half, when Panther QB Craig Jones Jr. connected on a 20-yard td pass to Robert Dodson. Dodson also scored on a run for the 2-point conversion to end the first half with the Broncos ahead 26-8.

Going into the third quarter, the Broncos turned the ball over on downs and the Panthers capitalized on it, as Dobson broke free for a 30-yard td run. The 2-point conversion failed as the Panthers closed the score to 14-26.

The Panthers, on kick-off, were successful with an onside kick to get the ball on the Bronco 41 yard. But going on offense, the Panthers turned the ball back over to the Broncos. This resulted in a 6-yard td run by Nichols-Porter at the 1:37 mark in the third quarter. The two point conversion failed and the third quarter ended with the Broncos up 32-14.

Entering the final quarter of play the Panthers QB Jones scored on a one-yard run and again the 2-point conversion failed. The score was now 32-20 for the Broncos.

After a failed onside kick by the Panthers, Pearson-Hines, going back to the air, hit Ford for a 21-yard td pass. The 2-point conversion failed and with 3:26 remaining in the game the home team edged ahead 38-20.

Not throwing in the towel, Panther QB Jones scored again on a 12 td run. The 2-point conversion failed and now with 1:30 left to play the Panthers closed the score to 26-38.

On the Bronco sideline, talk of the Panthers’ last year win over the Broncos in the final minutes of that game were voiced. The Panthers again did an onside kick and recovered it on the Bronco 38-yard line with 1:22 left on the clock. But after a few plays driving hard, the Panthers fumbled the ball and the Broncos recovered and ran the clock out for the win.

Bronco head coach Darren Parker remarked after the game, “Great win, the way to bounce back. They are a great group of young men that ‘quit’ is not in their vocabulary. We beat a good team tonight. Our kids stuck together and we are looking forward to next week. God is always awesome.”

On the statistics side of the game, the Panthers were penalized four times for 40 yards and the Broncos 13 times for 113 yards. The Panthers rushed for a total of 210 yards and the Broncos for 207 yards. The Panthers passed for 31 yards and the Broncos for 206 yards. The Panthers were led in rushing by Jones with 97 yards, and for the Broncos, Nichols-Porter with 83 yards. On the defensive side, Jayron Jones led the Panthers in tackles with seven, while for the Broncos, Drelyn Ford had six tackles.

To sum it up, both teams played a good game. The Panthers are known for their fighting ability and their come back when down. The Broncos really showed a new side of the playbook with the number of times they went and were successful with an air attack. They have a good mixture of offensive weapons now to add to their running game. A big concern for the Broncos may be in developing a punter for situations when it is in the team’s best interest to punt.

The Broncos will be on the road next week against Park View High School in South Hill at 7 p.m.