MEADVILLE — Jefferson County Tigers senior defensive tackle Ivan Mays may have said it best after Friday night’s 24-21 spoiling of the Franklin County Bulldogs homecoming and perhaps their season.

“This win is lovely,” said Mays who had a game-high 11 tackles and a recovered fumble. “Franklin County played us hard all night, but we wanted this one.”

The Tigers scored 18 unanswered points, after trailing the Bulldogs 14-0 after the first quarter. Jefferson County senior quarterback Percy Turner led the Tigers to epic victory, connecting with senior wide out Kadon Day from 14 yards out for the game winning score with 3:24 left in the game.

“Percy Turner played a great game, and our defense rose up,” said Jefferson County head coach James Herrington. “This was a big game for us, and a big win, too.”

Franklin County (4-2, 0-2) absorbed their first homecoming lost since 1998. The Bulldogs got touchdowns runs from Darnell Ford, Ryne Tutor and Jordan Hunt, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers (5-1, 1-1) clawed back.

“This is our second-straight loss by a combined four-points during the last two weeks,” Franklin County Bulldogs coach Grady McCluskey said. “It’s hard, losing games like this is hard.”

The Bulldogs were playing without the services of junior All-State

quarterback Jamie Collins, who was nursing a back injury. Tutor drew the

start, before splitting time in the second half with junior Alex Smith and

sophomore Edward Magee.\par

“Jefferson County made some big plays,” added McCluskey. “We turned the

ball over to much.\par

\tab FC had four turnovers (2 Int’s, 2 Fumbles), compared to Jefferson

County who only had a one turnover on a goal-line interception pass by

Turner.\par

\tab Turner, who was a combined 10-for-21 for 112 yards passing, was

electric in the second half as he threw for 88 yards and a score. He also

scored on a 63 yard run and caught a flea-flicker pass for 13 yards.\par

\tab “Percy came through when we needed him the most,” added Herrington.

“He’s been doing that the entire season.”\par

\tab A 58-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tigers senior

cornerback Keremy Noble gave the Tigers a much needed momentum boost, and

the lead at 18-14 in the third quarter.\par

\tab Jordan Hunt gave FC the lead back in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard

plunge. Hunt finished with a game-high 109 yards rushing on 15 carries.\par

\tab Minutes later Turner led the Tigers down the field for a drive that

ended on the Bulldog 22-yard line. A a botched snap by the Bulldogs two

plays later gave Jefferson County the ball back on the FC 23. Turner would

hit Day with the game winning pass on fourth down, to end the Bulldogs

111-game home winning streak. \par

\tab “These losses are tough,” said Bulldog senior defensive end Josh

Tillman. “We’ve got to regroup now, regroup and get better.”\b0\fs20\par