MEADVILLE — On homecoming night, Franklin County had a hard time moving the ball on Port Gibson, but a big first quarter allowed the Bulldogs to take a 27-8 win over the Blue Waves in MHSAA Division 7-3A action Friday night.

De’Martre Collins and Jacob McDaniel accounted for all three touchdowns for Franklin County in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs’ offense wasn’t able to do much of anything after that point.

“It wasn’t easy. Good game from the defense. Special teams played good. Struggled a bit on offense,” Bulldogs head coach Anthony Hart said. Our quarterback (McDaniel) got a little banged up in the second quarter and did not return. Had a good night otherwise.”

Collins scored on a three-yard run with 7:18 to go in the first quarter. McDaniel added a one-yard touchdown run and Thomas Slagle’s extra points gave Franklin County a 13-0 lead with 4:30 left in the opening quarter. McDaniel hooked up with Collins on a 50-yard touchdown pass and Slagle’s point-after gave the Bulldogs a commanding 20-0 lead with 1:27 remaining in the quarter.

Jakeem Gibson scored on a 42-yard touchdown run on 4th and 2. Malik Haynes, who had seven catches for 79 yards, scored on a two-point conversion run to make it a 20-8 game with 11:12 left in the second quarter.

It would remain 20-8 until Franklin County’s Julian Matthews blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone with 11:09 to go in the game. Slagle added the extra point.

“We had a good first quarter. Glad to get the win and get ready for next week,” Hart said.

McDaniel completed seven of 10 passes with no interceptions for 98 yards. Collins had four catches for 68 yards and Courtney Smith was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher with 53 yards on 15 carries.

Franklin County was actually out-gained by Port Gibson 163 yards to 154 yards. But the Bulldogs’ defense intercepted two passes.

Chris O’Quinn led the defense with nine tackles while Deion Buckles had seven tackles and one interception. Cameron Young added five tackles and two sacks.