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The Franklin County Rebels lost to the Fayetteville Tigers 26-13 on the road Friday in a preseason scrimmage.

Each team conducted six drives in the exhibition contest with the first five possessions consisting of 10 plays starting from the possessing team’s 20-yard line while the final drive had each team run five plays from the 50-yard line.

Franklin County head football coach Tracy Hayworth said his team still has plenty of work to do, but he saw some bright spots on the field as well.

“We’ve definitely got some timing issues with our passing and throwing game, and defensively, we’ve got to do a better job on doing our reads and getting things done when we’re in man coverage,” he said. “I’m still proud of our team and I still think that we gave a good effort.”

The Rebels had the first possession of the day with their opening drive stalling at midfield.

The Tigers drove into Franklin County’s territory on their first drive, but the Rebels were able to stop them just inside the 25-yard line.

Following another scoreless possession for Franklin County, the Tigers took the ball all the way down the field and scored a touchdown on the seventh play of their second possession to take a 7-0 lead.

The Rebels answered back on their third drive as quarterback CJ Seals found Eric Jones deep down the field for a touchdown pass, but a bobbled snap on the ensuing point-after attempt kept the Rebels behind by a score of 7-6.

The Tigers struck for another touchdown on the eighth play of their third possession with the ensuing point-after attempt missing the mark to put the deficit at 13-6.

The next score for the Tigers came on the defensive side as a fumble by the Rebels was run back for a score to make it a 19-6 game.

The Rebels nearly gave up another defensive score on an interception as their fourth possession continued, but the touchdown was waived off due to a personal foul committed by the Tigers on the return.

The Rebels found their offensive rhythm again as Seals found a wide-open Jones in the middle of the field for an 80-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit down to 19-13.

The Tigers answered back on the first play of their next possession as they broke off an 80-yard touchdown run to make it a two-score game again. The Tigers attempted to add to the lead later in the possession, but the Rebels stopped them a few yards short of the end zone on the drive’s final play.

Both teams rotated their backups into the game for the fifth and sixth possessions with the Rebels driving deep into enemy territory on their fifth drive before being stopped just inside the 10-yard line.

The Tigers had a lengthy drive of their own on their fifth possession with the Rebels halting their progress at the 8-yard line.

Neither team would be able to reach the end zone for the sixth and final possessions on both sides as the Rebels lost by 13.

The Rebels will have their next scrimmage on Aug. 4 at home against Siegel High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

They will open their 2023 season on Aug. 18 at home against Coffee County Central High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.