MEADVILLE — It was a rough Friday night for Franklin County High School as it could not establish a running game and its defense could not contain Lawrence County High School junior quarterback Charl’tez Nunnery.

While Franklin County tried to rally in the fourth quarter, Nunnery and company were simply too much as the MHSAA Class 4A Cougars defeated the Class 3A Bulldogs 30-15.

Even though Nunnery did not have any touchdown passes, he still went 6-for-11 for 172 yards with no interceptions. But where he was the most trouble for the Bulldogs’ defense was with his legs as he ended up with 106 yards on 22 carries with two second-half touchdowns.

The second of the two – a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the game – put the game away for Lawrence County after Franklin County made it a one-possession game earlier in the fourth quarter.

Chris O’Quinn, known as the one of the leaders of the Bulldogs’ defense, got involved in the offense as he scored on a nine-yard pass from Jacob McDaniel with 11:55 to go in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead.

But the Cougars made sure that led would not last very long. Quitten Brown scored on a seven-yard run and Josh Stephens atoned for his missed extra point with a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, giving them a 9-7 halftime lead.

Lawrence County expanded its lead in the third quarter on a Nunnery 17-yard touchdown run and a 35-yard fumble recovery and return by Brown for a 23-7 advantage.

Franklin County would not go away quietly as McDaniel scored on a two-yard run and threw to Cameron Young on the two-point conversion pass with 9:25 left, which made it a 23-15 game.

The Bulldogs’ running game was almost non-existent thanks to the Cougars’ defense. Franklin County managed just 59 yards on 25 carries and De’Martre Collins was held to 21 yards on eight carries.

McDaniel finished 5-for-14 passing for 82 yards and Collins completed a halfback pass for 35 yards. O’Quinn led the defense with 15 tackles and La’darius Norman had 13 tackles.

Franklin County (3-2) plays at No. 2 Tylertown at 7 p.m. next Friday.