MEADVILLE – Junior quarterback Charl-Tez Nunnery’s 171 passing yards and 130 rushing yards were the highlights of the night as Lawrence County defeated Franklin County 30-15 Friday.

“This was a great defensive battle between two tough teams, and we are glad to come away with the win,” said LCHS coach Jaymie Palmer. “Charl’Tez Nunnery played a great, game for us tonight. He did a great job running our offense the way it supposes to run. Defensively, the guys played great and they executed our game plan to keep (De’Martre) Collins in check.”

After a scoreless first, Franklin County scored the first points of the game when Jacob McDaniel connected with Chris O’Quinn on a 9-yard pass with 11:56 remaining in the second. Thomas Slagle was successful on the extra point kick to give FC a 7-0 lead.

Lawrence County quickly answered on the next possession as it worked the ball down the field and cashed in their first points of the night on a 7-yard run by Quitten Brown. But the Cougars failed to make the extra point and FC led 7-6.

After a series of defensive bouts, the Cougars would get the ball back late in the second quarter and quickly march down the field to set up a 25-yard field goal, which was made by Josh Stephens as time expired. LCHS led 9-7 at halftime.

The Cougars’ defense dominated and held the Bulldogs scoreless throughout the third.

Lawrence County’s offense managed to find their rhythm as Nunnery scored on a 17-yard run with 6:41 remaining. Stephens finished 3-of-4 on the extra point kick for the night.

The Cougars’ defense managed to get into the scoring action as T-Tez Cole recovered a fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left in the third. LCHS commanded a 23-7 lead after three quarters of action.

In the final frame, the Bulldogs quickly battled back as McDaniel scrambled in a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 9:25 left. Franklin County was successful on the two-point conversion when McDaniel hit Cameron Young in the endzone, cutting into LCHS’ lead at 23-15.

Lawrence County’s late 10-yard touchdown run by Nunnery was the final nail that the Cougars needed to put the game away and collect a 30-15 win over the Bulldogs.

“We made a lot mistakes in the game, and Lawrence County did a great job capitalizing on them,” said FC coach Anthony Hart. “Now, we must regroup and start preparing for our game against Tylertown next week.”

Offensively, Nunnery led the Cougars’ passing and rushing attack, completing 6-of-11 passes for 171 yards and rushing for 130 yards on 24 carries for two touchdowns.

Quitten Brown was the second leading rusher for the Cougars with 12 carries for 60 yards. Kejuan Brown led all LCHS receivers with one catch for 61 yards. Azar Myles caught one pass for 42 yards.

For the Bulldogs, McDaniel led his team in passing, completing 5-of-14 passes for 82 yards. De’Martre Collins completed one pass for 39 yards and rushed for 22 yards on eight carries. Antonio Christmas was the top receiver with three catches for 65 yards; Tony Wells caught two passes for 43 yards.

Defensively, Chris O’Quinn powered the Bulldogs with 15 tackles. La’Darius Norman contributed 13 tackles. Marquavis Dunn provided 11 stops. Wyatt Johnson, Gregory Queen and Dominique White had eight tackles each. Cameron Young had seven stops, one sack and a fumble recovery.

T-Tez Cole directed the Cougars’ defense with 10 tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. Azar Myles had eight solo tackles. Rykendrick Harness and Will Thurman also recovered a fumble.

The Cougars (4-1) will return home to Monticello Friday to host the Seminary Bulldogs for homecoming. The Bulldogs (3-2) will travel to Tylertown to battle the Tylertown Chiefs next week. Kick off is at 7 p.m.