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MEADVILLE — Franklin County dominated Wilkinson County at the line of scrimmage to win 38-0 Friday night  in a non-district MHSAA contest.

Things got chippy as the game moved slowly and players jawed back and forth between the two rivals. 

The win moves Franklin County to 2-3 on the year while Wilkinson County is now 1-4. Bulldog senior Keyundre Fulton played a phenomenal game on both sides of the ball as a running back and linebacker. “I had to do what I could to help us get the win. I tried my hardest to help us win,” Fulton said. “It is not a challenge for me to play on both sides of the ball. If I put my mind to it there is nothing I can’t do. We needed this win to uplift us. We can play as brothers and as a family.” 

The family did a great job of forcing turnovers and hurrying up the Wildcat quarterback. Bulldog senior lineman Ramsey Brown forced a fumble when he took the ball out of a Wildcat running back’s hand. 

Franklin County blocked two punts although one of those punts was negated by a penalty. 

Offensively, Franklin County was led by Fulton rushing the ball. He opened the scoring with a 20 yard touchdown rush. Franklin County senior quarterback Donovan Moore threw a 30 yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jamari Tolliver to extend the lead to 12-0. 

Fulton added to the Bulldog lead with a 76 yard touchdown rush down the sideline to make it 18-0. 

“We were running and I was going inside but they were blocking down and I saw a defender and bounced it outside,” Fulton said. “I saw my blockers on the sidelines and I kept going to score the touchdown. I give a shoutout to my teammates blocking on that play.” 

Moore put Franklin County up 24-0 on a three yard rush. Rancifer threw a 20 yard touchdown pass to Jamari Toliver with seven minutes to go before half to make it 30-0. Rancifer scored a rushing touchdown and finally start a running clock late in the third quarter. Franklin County led 38-0. 

The game took three hours to play and was lethargic. Each time the game seemed to lurch a little bit forward a penalty or referee discussion took any flow out of the game. After three quarters, Franklin County had 125 penalty yards and Wilkinson County had 140 penalty yards. The running clock saved the crowd from a hostage situation. Fulton said the team just had to play through the adversity. 

“It is a mind thing. You feel like you can get the job done,” Fulton said. “You have to have discipline.” 

Franklin County plays South Pike next Friday at 7 p.m. Wilkinson County plays at Loyd Star next Friday with kickoff set for 7 p.m.