MEADVILLE &045; Another week, another game against one of the state’s best teams.

For Franklin County, the playoffs haven’t been easy going. After an opening round win over Columbia, the Bulldogs dispatched No. 1 Forest 33-14 last week. Their reward? A matchup with Tylertown, considered by some to be the best team in the state.

&uot;We don’t want it if it’s easy,&uot; quarterback Jasper O’Quinn said. &uot;We want to play the best teams.&uot;

Now the Bulldogs have to face Tylertown. Franklin County coach Anthony Hart is among those who believe Tylertown might be the state’s best.

&uot;Tylertown’s good. Before the season, I thought they might be the best team in the South,&uot; Hart said. &uot;They have a lot of speed, size and strength and they’re real experienced with a lot of seniors. They feel like this is their shot, their year. I somewhat agree.&uot;

That said, Hart isn’t willing to concede anything to the Chiefs. His team is big, strong, battle-tested and has seniors of its own that aren’t ready for their high school careers to end just yet.

The Chiefs, much like their opponents, like to run the ball on offense and play tough defense.

The Franklin County defense, dominant all season long, will again be called on to step up to the challenge. They must stop the varied running attack the Chiefs will throw at them and force Tylertown to go to the air where it’s less comfortable.

&uot;We have to shut down the run and make them do what they don’t want to do,&uot; defensive lineman Jake Buckels said.

The Bulldogs have great size throughout their team, particularly on the offensive line, where 265-pound Brandon Pedigo and 241-pound Deandre Davis, both seniors, help open up running lanes for the backs.

&uot;We just do our jobs so the backs can do good things,&uot; Pedigo said.

O’Quinn is the beneficiary of much of the offensive lines’ efforts. The senior quarterback is a dominant runner.

&uot;We’ll just do like we do every game, go right up the middle and make you stop us,&uot; O’Quinn said.

A regular-season loss to Hazlehurst on a rain-soaked field might end up costing the Bulldogs. Because of that loss, Franklin County will have to hit the road to face the Chiefs.

Due to the scheduling rules, the game will be a Tylertown. Since both teams were the No. 2 seeds in their regions, the team from the region with the lower designation this year will be the home team. That means Tylertown will host.

&uot;It doesn’t matter, the best team will win wherever the game is,&uot; Hart said. &uot;I don’t put a lot of stock in home-field advantage. At least I hope it doesn’t matter.&uot;