andrew.faison@yahoo.com

FRANKLIN—After being down 27-7 at the end of third quarter, Franklin scored two touchdowns in the fourth and nearly pulled off a third. An interception with 2:10 left in the game ended the team’s hopes of advancing to the state championship game for third time in eight years.

“The last call was on me, I messed up and we’re going home,” said Franklin Head Coach Darren Parker. “We had a great second half. The kids played their tails off.”

The Broncos’ season ended after being upset 27-21 Saturday by visiting George Wythe High School in the semifinal round of the Virginia High School League Group A Division 1 state championship playoffs.

The Broncos came into the game as the No. 1 seed for the Eastern section and end their season 13-1 overall while the Maroons came in as the No. 2 seed of the Western section and improve to 13-1.

“We had a great season,” Parker said.

The Maroons will move onto the state championship to take on the Honaker Tigers, who came from behind to defeat Sussex Central 47-40 on Saturday.

“Congratulations to them (George Wythe),” Parker said.

Leaders for the Broncos were senior Travis Brown who had 28 carries for 252 yards. Sophomore Marcus Stephens added 16 rushes for 73 yards.

The Broncos were first on the scoreboard as Brown broke a 44-yard run up the middle with 7:27 left in the first quarter to cap off a 12-play, 85-yard drive. The extra point by junior Angel Padila was good, making the score 7-0.

The Maroons began their 21 unanswered points run with 1:30 left in the first quarter when sophomore Trey Skeens found the end zone from 13-yards out to cap off a seven-play, 50-yard drive. The extra point by senior Andrew Storms was good, making the score 7-7.

With 8:36 left in the second quarter, Skeens broke a 9-yard run up the middle to cap off a six-play, 48-yard drive. The extra point by Storms was good, making the score 14-7.

With 2:25 left in the second quarter, senior Dominique Crockett broke a 10-yard run to cap off a six-play, 70-yard drive. The extra point by Storms was good, making the score 21-7.

Franklin threatened late in the second quarter, but Padilla missed a 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the half.

With 8:35 left in the third quarter, Skeens hit a gap to the right side to score from 11 yards out to cap off a 10-play, 68-yard drive. The extra point was no good, making the score 27-7.

The Broncos opened the fourth quarter with a 1-yard run by Brown to find the end zone to cap off a 12-play, 52-yard drive. The extra point by Padilla was good, making the score 27-14.

The Broncos’ defense held the Maroons to a three-and-out allowing Franklin to start from its own 40-yard line after a Maroon punt. With 7:11 left in the fourth quarter, Pittman hit an 11-yard pass to sophomore Corey Porter to cap off a 7-play, 2:22 minute drive. The extra point by Padilla was good, making the score 27-21.