Windsor — During a rainy and muddy game at Windsor High School Friday night, the Franklin Broncos overtook the Windsor Dukes 41 – 0. The conditions caused both teams trouble holding onto the ball, and each squad fumbled four times and turned it over once.

The Broncos got the upper hand on the slick field as their two leading rushers, Marcus Stephens and Latrell Lane, rushed for 114 and 101 yards respectively. Stephens crossed the goal line three times and Lane twice. The Broncos led the Dukes in rushing 259 yards to 77 yards.

For the Dukes, Justice Chapman ran the ball 22 times for 81 yards.

The Broncos opened up the scoring early in the first quarter as Stephens ran for a 22-yard touchdown on Franklin’s first possession. Angel Padilla added the extra point for a 7- 0 lead.

After the Bronco stopped the Dukes offense on their first possession, Stephens got loose again for a five-yard touchdown run. The Padilla kick was good for a 14 – 0 lead.

On the Dukes next possession Justice Chapman broke free around the right side off the line and raced for what appeared to be a 65 yard touchdown that got the Dukes bench and fans excited, but due to a holding penalty the run was called back.

With 5:31 in the first quarter, Bronco QB Laquadric Pittman scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. Padilla added the extra point, extending the Broncos’ lead to 21-0.

The only scoring in second quarter came courtesy of a nine yard run by the Franklin’s Lane. The Padilla extra point attempt sailed wide, but the Broncos had increased their lead to 27 – 0 which they managed to maintain heading into halftime.

At 7:32 in the second half the Stephens scored on a four-yard touchdown run, and the two point conversion pushed the Broncos lead to 35 – 0 and provided a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Lane scored the final touchdown for the Broncos in the fourth quarter on a 39-yard td run. The Padilla kick did not get off due to a slippery ball that got away from the holder.

Despite the bad field conditions, the Broncos managed to move the chains for 18 first downs compared to the Dukes nine. The Dukes, who played without a placekicker, went for a first down on the majority of their drives regardless of their field position. This resulted in the Broncos getting good field position to begin most of their drives.

Alison Cromwell led the Broncos’ defense with seven tackles, followed by Dominque Gainey and Terry Warren who had four tackles each. For the Dukes, Donovan Cosbert had three tackles. The Broncos are now 8 – 1 and the Dukes 1 -8.

The Broncos will close out the regular season on November 8 at Armory Park against rival Southampton High School.