LIBERTY &045; For a team that lost 18 seniors from last year’s team and wasn’t even supposed to be a playoff contender this season, the Franklin County Bulldogs continue to surprise a lot of people in this area that follow Region 7-3A.

And the Bulldogs did the unthinkable as they won the Region 7-3A championship with a 31-22 win on the road Friday night over a team that was supposed to contend the region crown, the Amite County Trojans.

Jasper O’Quinn led the Bulldogs’ running attack with 172 yards on 27 carries and scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 57-yard run just 17 seconds into the game.

But it wasn’t an easy win as Franklin County (7-2, 5-0) trailed 14-7 after Terry Boss ran in from 10 yards out and Marcus Crockett scored on a two-point conversion run with 11:52 to go in the second quarter.

Crockett, who had 142 yards rushing on 22 carries and had four receptions for 56 yards, earlier ran in from 1 yard out with in the first quarter to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-6.

Then the Bulldogs scored 24 unanswered points, including 17 in the over final 8:53 of the second quarter as Tommy Gibbs threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Zach Thomas and 45 yards to Jonathan Brooks and Chris Blackwell added a 39-yard field goal.

Gibbs was 5-of-14 passing for 96 yards with one interception. Thomas caught three passes for 51 yards.

Gibbs connected with Brooks on a 15-yard touchdown pass for a 31-14 lead with 2:22 to go in the third quarter.

Amite County (2-6, 2-3) tried to get back in the game late in the fourth quarter as quarterback Terry Boss threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Robinson with 3:03 left, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs ran out the clock.

Hazlehurst 12, JC 8

HAZLEHURST &045; The Tigers couldn’t punch it into the end zone after getting inside the 10 on three occasions, and that puts them in a tight spot come next week in the season finale at home against Port Gibson.

The Tigers (2-3, 5-4) must get a win over the Blue Waves to make the playoffs.

&uot;We couldn’t get anything done offensively,&uot; JC head coach Jeffrey Harness said. &uot;We just have to pick up the pieces and regroup. If we want to go to the postseason, we’ve got to win Friday. We’ve got to regroup and come out playing ball.&uot;

The Indians took a 12-0 lead in the third quarter after Dexter Douglass scored the second of his two touchdowns, but the Tigers couldn’t answer. They got inside the red zone three times but couldn’t punch it in.

&uot;Those things are just not acceptable,&uot; Harness said. &uot;It’s a game we could have won and should have won.&uot;

Their only score came when Kendrick Griffin scooped up a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Indians put up a big drive for their first score when Douglass scored from 4 yards out. Then in the third quarter the Tigers fumbled inside their own 10, and the Indians needed five plays to score when Douglass scored from 1 yard out for a 12-0 lead.

NW Rankin 47, Natchez 12

BRANDON &045; The Cougars blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown as the Cougars used a 33-6 lead to put away the punchless Bulldogs Friday night in a Region 4-5A game.

The Bulldogs, losers of 18 of their last 19 and two of their 29 of their 31 games under head coach James Denson, got a score just before the half when Jason Hayes hit Kedrieck Gibbons on a 32-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 26-6.

The Cougars blocked a Riley Trask punt in the second quarter, and Brian Switzer caught it in the air and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown for a 12-0 lead.

The Bulldogs, plagued by turnovers, scored in the fourth quarter on Travis Washington’s 6-yard run to add to the scoring.