S

The Franklin County Rebels lost to the East Hamilton Hurricanes 41-34 on the road Friday for their third loss of the season.

The Rebels came back from a 20-point halftime deficit to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Hurricanes quickly tied the score and then retook the lead later in the period to give Franklin County the loss.

Franklin County head football coach Tracy Hayworth said his team got off to a poor start which was hard to fully recover from.

“I think we came out flat, and we just weren’t ready to play at the beginning,” he said. “We’ve got to get better. We can’t afford to come out flat, and we’ve got to be ready to play every game and every team like it’s the best team.”

The Hurricanes took the opening kickoff and returned it for a touchdown to immediately put the Rebels in a 7-0 hole.

The Rebels drove down to East Hamilton’s 10-yard line on their first possession, but they ultimately turned the ball over on downs.

The Hurricanes scored again one play later as a 90-yard touchdown pass brought the deficit for Franklin County up to 14-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Following a punt by the Rebels, the Hurricanes put together another quick scoring drive from midfield to make it a 20-0 game with 2:35 remaining in the opening period.

The Rebels got on the board early in the second quarter as Eric Jones concluded a 75-yard drive with a short touchdown run to put the score at 20-7 with 9:10 left in the first half.

However, the Hurricanes responded with their fourth touchdown of the half on their next possession to bring the deficit back up to an even 20 points with 4:45 remaining in the half.

The Rebels trailed 27-7 at halftime.

The Rebels opened the second half with a six-minute drive which saw them get deep into enemy territory once again, but another turnover on downs left them without any points to show for it.

The Rebels got the ball back quickly after an East Hamilton punt and put together a 73-yard drive which ended in another rushing touchdown for Jones to make it a 27-14 game with three minutes to go in the third quarter.

Another punt from the Hurricanes gave the Rebels the ball at midfield, and Jones broke off a 41-yard touchdown run two plays later to make it a one-score game at 27-20 in the final minute of the third quarter.

The momentum remained on Franklin County’s side for East Hamilton’s next possession as Willie Cobb picked off a pass for the Rebels to give them the ball at the Hurricanes’ 27-yard line.

Jones carried the ball into the end zone a few plays later as his fourth rushing touchdown of the night would be followed by a successful point-after attempt by Loui Arellano to tie the score at 27-27 just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Hurricanes attempted to run a quarterback sneak on third-and-1 during their next drive, but the Rebels pushed them backward for a loss on the play. An incomplete pass on fourth down set up the Rebels at the opposing 35-yard line.

On the first play following the turnover on downs, Franklin County quarterback CJ Seals threw a long pass down the sidelines to Kai Baker with Baker hauling in the ball and diving across the plane of the goal line for a go-ahead score to give the Rebels a 34-27 advantage with 9:30 remaining.

However, the Hurricanes came alive on offense again as they returned the ensuing kickoff to the 50-yard line and completed a touchdown pass on the next play from scrimmage to immediately tie the score once more at 34-34.

After a punt from the Rebels, the Hurricanes were faced with a second-and-14 at midfield which appeared to be set to turn into a third-and-14 following an incomplete pass. However, a penalty for defensive pass interference against the Rebels gave East Hamilton a fresh set of downs.

The Hurricanes capitalized on their new life and drove down the field for a rushing touchdown to retake the lead at 41-34 with 5:42 on the clock.

The Rebels had their next possession halted by an interception with 3:13 remaining, and the Hurricanes then ran out the rest of the clock to seal Franklin County’s loss by seven.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 0-3 on the season.

They will next play Friday at Tullahoma High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.