Despite being shocked the previous two weeks by Tylertown and Jefferson County, the Franklin County Bulldogs appear to be back on track after a dominating North Pike for a 38-7 victory.
Franklin County head coach Grady McCluskey was not happy with the overall play of his team despite the lopsided victory.
“We’re just not a good team right now,” McCluskey said. “We are trying to push the right buttons, but some of the kids are just not responding.”
The Bulldog defense had its way with North Pike all night. Franklin County only allowed 8 yards rushing and held the passing attack in check, allowing only one big reception.
Franklin County forced five turnovers in the game and kept constant pressure on quarterback Revis Butler. The Jaguars had five other fumbles that they managed to cover.
North Pike’s defense was able to slow the Bulldogs in the first half, but eventually Franklin County was just too much for the Jaguars.
The Bulldogs put the game out of reach in the third quarter, and the front four of Franklin County’s defense was relentless.
The defensive end tandem of AlJoshua Tillman and Bo Tillman showed why they are being sought out by every SEC school. The Tillmans kept the Jaguars from getting outside and the interior of the line kept forcing fumbles.
The Jaguars played well defensively in the first half, and kept the score close toward the break. With only 2:32 remaining in the second quarter, North Pike’s Butler threw a deep slant to Jimmie Robinson to get the Jaguars on the scoreboard. North Pike went into the half trailing 17-7.
North Pike head coach Chris Smith, was pleased with the effort of his defense and credited the big play of Franklin County’s defense in stopping his offense.
“We played well defensively in the first half, but eventually the depth of Franklin County got us,” Smith said. “That is the best front four on defense that we will see, and probably the best front four in the state.”
On Franklin County’s first possession, the Bulldogs quickly moved the ball to the Jaguar 12-yard line. The Jaguars held their ground and didn’t allow another yard.
Franklin County took the early lead on Jace Carlock’s 27-yard field goal with 8:26 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs padded their lead with 0:33 remaining in the first quarter behind a 23-yard touchdown run by Jamie Collins.
Midway through the second quarter, Franklin County started flexing its muscles in the running game.
Jordan Hunt checked into the game with 8:09 remaining in the half.
On his first run of the game, he ran over several Jaguars on his way to a 42-yard gain.
On the next play, Hunt put his head down and ran through the right side of the line for a 9-yard touchdown with 7:35 remaining. He then ran in the two- point conversion for a 17-0 lead.
“Coach told me to run north and south,” Hunt said.
The Bulldog defense faltered a little, getting a 15-yard penalty to keep the North Pike drive alive.
North Pike managed to get the ball to the Franklin County 42-yard line behind some hard running by Keiron Robinson.
The Jaguars drive seemed to stall there, but on fourth-and-eight, Butler found Jimmie Robinson for a 42-yard touchdown.
The Jaguars seemed to go into the half with momentum in their favor behind a defensive stop at their own 18-yard line.
North Pike then went for an onside kick to open the second half and Ridgeland Smith recovered the ball at the Franklin County 47-yard line. Smith’s recovery was the last big play for the Jaguars.
Jarvis King intercepted North Pike’s Butler after the ball was tipped by Robinson and returned it to go up 24-7.
Hunt scored his second touchdown of the game on a 41-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up 31-7.
The final score in the game came on a 67-yard breakaway by Jamie Collins with 6:23 remaining in the game.
“I was really anxious to play this week after not playing last week,” Collins said.
