Bulldogs, Tigers go at it in rivalry clash

Published 12:16 am Thursday, October 29, 2009

MEADVILLE — Bad things happening at inopportune times are what Franklin County head coach Trent Hammond attributes his team’s most recent loss to.

Last Friday, the Bulldogs fell to rival Tylertown 16-7, dropping them to 7-3 on the season and 3-1 in district play.

“Special teams had a bad snap on a punt that they recovered, giving them an easy touchdown in a short yardage situation,” Hammond said.

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“Also, it was either in the first or second quarter, we stopped them on fourth down, but the officials mixed it up and gave them a fifth down.”

Hammond added that Tylertown would get the first down the next play, and go on to score.

“It makes a huge difference in play-calling when you’re down two touchdowns, as opposed to one,” Hammond said.

With that loss behind them, the Bulldogs will now have to refocus, as they travel to Jefferson County this week for their final game of the regular season.

Hammond said it would be a challenge for his players to play with the same emotional output that they played with against Tylertown.

“The hardest thing to do is to play back-to-back games at an extreme level,” Hammond said. “We worry about matching the intensity against Jefferson County that we had against Tylertown.”

Hammond also said he worries about his team’s ability to play in soggy field conditions, as Friday’s forecast calls for a lot of rain.

“I hope they’re used to the rain by now. We’ve had to practice and play in it the entire season. I think for all but two games this year, if it wasn’t raining during the game, it rained right before the game.”

The Franklin County defense will have to be ready for multiple looks from the Jefferson County offense, Hammond said.

“They can run power stuff or they can spread the football around,” Hammond said. “Their quarterback plays with his feet and arm. They’re also a team that has tremendous size, and two big running backs. When they decide to run the football, they can power it right at you.”

Kickoff at Jefferson County is set for 7 p.m. Friday.