MEADVILLE &045; There wasn’t a bench-clearing brawl this time when Natchez High met Franklin County in soccer.

Actually, far from it. Both teams finished regulation tied at 1-1 before Natchez High won the shootout, 3-2, to take the win Thursday night in Meadville.

&uot;Let me tell you what &045; it was bitterly cold,&uot; Natchez head coach Dennis Hogue said. &uot;It was a great night for soccer, but it was cold. It was a real great game. The Franklin County team played well. They played better than I expected. We got there, and they were more of a team than we anticipated.&uot;

The Bulldogs from Franklin County battled the Bulldogs from Natchez to the tie in regulation, and Natchez got a goal each from Aaron Ratliff, Curtis Holder and Wesley Davis to take the lead.

Two of Franklin County’s shooters missed high, and the last guy missed wide.

Franklin County’s tries in the shootout came on Ratliff, who went to goalkeeper following Lamar O’Neal’s departure after Franklin County scored to tie it up late. Franklin County had a forward crash into O’Neal, which forced him to lose the ball and allow another Franklin County player to boot it in.

Holder had the first goal for NHS.

NHS girls 3, Franklin County 0

Natchez High’s Lady Bulldogs built off the momentum of a 1-0 lead at half to take two goals and post the shutout win.

Kayla Floyd had two goals for Natchez, while Stacy Weaver had the other.

&uot;She (Floyd) played better than I’ve ever seen her

play,&uot; Hogue said. &uot;The girls played like a team tonight. They passed the ball, spread it around and played their position.&uot;