FRANKLIN
“God is always great. We will go back to the drawing board and get ready for next week; we got a game against Greensville,” said Franklin High School Bronco head coach Darren Parker after the Broncos lost 14-0 to the Sussex Central High School Tigers on Friday at the Armory Drive Recreational Park football stadium.

The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in Virginia Division 1A, dominated the game as they rushed for a total of 146 yards, passed for 95 yards and held the Bronco offense to 0 first downs.

“We lost this one — we never cry about our losses — we lost this one, and we will go back and regroup and get ready for next week,” continued Parker.

The Tigers opened the game on their first possession and scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Malik Delk to Pha’shard Harris. The two-point conversion was good on a pass from Delk to Mack Prosise for the early 8-0 lead. The Tigers scored the final points of the game in the second quarter as Delk connected on a 43-yard pass to Tyrese Rose. The two-point conversion failed as the score advanced to 14-0.

During halftime of the game, the Franklin Wall of Excellence Committee, led by chairman Jim Jervey, recognized the 2016 inductees into the new program. This is to honor former Franklin and Hayden high school students, administrators, teachers and staff who have excelled or distinguished themselves through personal and /or professional success, as well as to recognize those community members who have made significant contributions to the public schools in Franklin.

As the game continued in the second half it was mainly a defensive battle. The Broncos threatened to score in the final minutes of the game upon reaching the red zone, but were not successful and turned the ball back over to the Tigers.

Overall, the Broncos did not have a good night on moving the pigskin. But they were successful in holding down the Tigers’ normally high-scoring offense, which has been averaging at least 30 or more points a game and have scored as much as 60 points in a game.

“Adversity does the heart great, we are going to bounce back,” ended Parker’s remarks.

The Broncos were led in rushing by Alex Allen with 49 yards, and the team had a total of 103 rushing yards. Leading in tackles was Lynn Lawson and Da-shaun Butts both with six tackles apiece.