Franklin County tops Philadelphia, plays on

By From staff reports | The Natchez Democrat

Published Saturday, November 14, 2009

PHILADELPHIA — Franklin County head coach Trent Hammond knew that for the Bulldogs to upset Philadelphia Friday night, their defense would have to hold the state’s second-leading rusher, running back Brandon Willis, under 100 yards rushing.

Not only did the Bulldogs stun Philadelphia 20-7, they did what most thought was impossible — keep Willis out of the end zone.

“The defense played great,” Hammond said. “Philadelphia’s one of the most physical teams we’ve played all season. It’s just another night. The kids did a good job.”

Willis managed just 48 yards on the ground on 19 carries. As a team, Philadelphia was held to 39 yards on 31 carries. The Tornadoes had just 126 yards of total offense and lost all four fumbles. Frank Hunt recovered two of those fumbles and Tevin Thomas recovered another fumble. Each of them had five tackles while Brian Covington had four tackles and two sacks.

Franklin County (10-3) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Milton Griffin’s 6-yard touchdown run and Coleman Graves’ extra point in the first quarter. The Bulldogs made it 13-0 in the second quarter on Darnell Ford’s 4-yard touchdown run and they took that lead into halftime.

Dehendret Collins caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Edward McGhee and Graves’ point-after gave Franklin County a 20-0 lead in the third quarter.

Lee Smith threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tyriq Patrick and Latimer Smith was good on the extra point later on in the third quarter to make it a 20-7 ball game. But that would be the only points Region 5-3A champion Philadelphia (11-2) would get on the night.

“The offense played great and the offensive line did a great job opening up holes. Darnell Ford and Milton Griffin did a good job running the ball,” Hammond said.

Ford had 24 carries for 101 yards to lead the Bulldogs’ running game, which racked up 240 yards. McGhee completed three of five passes for 51 yards.

Franklin County will be on the road for the second straight week when the Bulldogs play at Morton at 7 p.m. Friday. Morton, the No 2 seed out of Region 6-3A, upset Perry Central in another second round game.