Rebels drop road matchup to Moore County

S

The Franklin County Rebels lost to the Moore County Raiders 41-24 on the road Friday for their fourth loss of the season.

The score was kept close for most of the day with the Rebels holding a small lead midway through the third quarter, but the Raiders jumped ahead late in the third period and pulled away from there to give Franklin County a loss.

After trading punts to start the game, the Raiders scored the first points of the day, concluding a drive from midfield with a jump-pass touchdown to take a 6-0 lead with 5:40 left in the opening period.

The Rebels elected to go for it on fourth-and-short from their own 26-yard line on their next drive, but a run by Eric Jones was stuffed by Moore County for a turnover on downs.

The Raiders recorded another passing touchdown a few plays later and were successful on a two-point conversion attempt to make it a 14-0 game with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.

The Rebels drove into enemy territory on their ensuing possession with kicker Loui Arellano hitting a 39-yard field goal to conclude the drive as the score was put at 14-3 with nine minutes left in the first half.

The Raiders seemed poised to add to their lead as they brought the ball into Franklin County’s territory for the third consecutive possession, but the Rebels forced an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play to get the ball back at their own 24-yard line.

The Rebels followed up by notching their first touchdown of the day as quarterback CJ Seals scrambled out of the pocket and found Eric Jones for a 42-yard scoring pass. The point-after attempt by Arellano then hit off the top of the crossbar, but the ball still rolled over for a successful try to make it a 14-10 game with 3:50 to go in the first half.

The next Moore County possession ended in a turnover as Kai Baker intercepted a pass over the middle of the field to halt another opposing drive into Franklin County’s territory.

The Rebels trailed 14-10 at halftime.

The Rebels drove all the way down the field to start the third quarter as Seals called his own number for a nine-yard rushing touchdown to conclude the possession. The score and the point-after attempt by Arellano gave the Rebels a 17-14 lead about four minutes into the second half.

The Raiders returned the ensuing kickoff all the way down to Franklin County’s 23-yard line, but Jacob Hardison intercepted a pass in the end zone on the next play from scrimmage to get the ball back for the Rebels.

Following a punt by the Rebels, the Raiders broke off a rushing touchdown from midfield to retake the lead at 20-17 with four minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Rebels turned the ball over with an interception on their next possession, and the Raiders converted that turnover into another touchdown drive to put the deficit at 28-17 in the final minute of the third quarter.

A punt by the Rebels to start the fourth quarter led to a third straight scoring drive for the Raiders as a rushing touchdown brought the score to 35-17 with 9:51 remaining.

The Rebels were able to make up some ground on their next drive as Seals escaped out of a collapsing pocket to complete a pass to Willie Cobb, and Cobb dodged several tackle attempts and ran into the end zone from there for a 38-yard score to make it a 35-24 game with 9:12 to go.

However, the Raiders quickly moved down the field once again and scored another long rushing touchdown from midfield to push the deficit back up to 17 points with 7:35 left on the clock.

The Rebels made one more trip into enemy territory on their next possession, but the drive ended in a turnover on downs at Moore County’s 20-yard line with five minutes to play.

The Raiders were able to run out the rest of the clock from there as the Rebels lost by 17.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 1-4 on the season.

They will next play Friday at home against Shelbyville Central High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

posteditor
posteditor
Articles: 17424