The Franklin County Rebels had a full, game situation scrimmage at Giles County on Thursday night with the Rebels coming out on top 35-21.  After a 21-21 halftime score, the Rebel defense stepped up the intensity the second half.  Kolten Nunley scored on touchdown runs of 6, 21 and 55 yards to lead the Rebel offensive attack.  A.J. Blackwell scored on a 16 yard run and Jim Prince added a 4 yard touchdown.  The Rebels will play in the Kickoff Jamboree at UTC on Friday.

REBELS IMPRESSIVE IN SCRIMMAGE

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FC Rebel Football

REBELS OPEN WITH WIN!

The Franklin County Rebels racked up over 400 yards of offense and rolled over Chattanooga Howard 42-30 on Friday night in the opening game of the season.  The Rebels took the opening kickoff and marched down the field and capped off the drive on a Layton Wells 6 yard touchdown run with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter.  The Rebels scored again with 1:30 left in the quarter on a Matt Stachel 1 yard touchdown run and Franklin County led 14-0.  The Rebel defense shut out the Tigers in the first half and Franklin County took the two touchdown lead to the break.  Then the offensive fireworks took over in the second half.  Howard took the second half kickoff and scored with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter to cut the Rebel lead to 14-6 after the extra point attempt failed.  Franklin County answered in less than two minutes when Koleton broke free on a 32 yard touchdown run to put the Rebels up 21-6.  On the second play of the fourth quarter Nunley again broke a big run and scored from 84 yards out to put the Rebels up 28-6.  With 8:40 remaining, Howard's LaDarius Hicks scored to pull the Tigers within 14 after the 2 point conversion.  The Rebels quickly answered with a Wells 8 yard touchdown run.  On the Tigers next possession quarterback Tevan Jackson was intercepted by Jared Byrom and the Rebel linebacker returned it to the Howard 6 yard line.  On the next play Darien Vanzant scored to put the Rebels up 42-14.  The Tigers didn't quit adding two more touchdowns and the 2 point conversions to pull with 12 after Franklin County fumbled on the first play of two consecutive drives.    The Rebels fumbled a third time deep in their own territory but Howard's attempt to score again was shut down when LaQuan Hendon intercepted a Jackson pass attempt with less than two minutes remaining.  Time of possession in the second half was 5:18 for the Rebels while Howard had the ball for 18:32.  Check back Monday to Reb Web for video highlights from the game.  Franklin County will host Lebanon on Friday night.

The Franklin County Rebels lost their home opener 41-27 to Lebanon on Friday night.  The Rebels took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards inside the Blue Devil 20 but turned the ball over on a fumble.  It was the only turnover of the night but it proved to be costly as it forced the Rebels to play catch up all night.  Lebanon took advantage of the turnover by traveling 80 yards and scoring on quarterback Pat Maynard's 6 yard touchdown run with 2:44 remaining in the 1st quarter.  On the first play of the 2nd quarter Lebanon struck again as DeQuarius Apple scored on a 3 yard touchdown run to put the Blue Devils up 12-0.  Franklin County's first points came with 10:48 remaining in the first half when Martin Hill scored from 20 yards out to pull the Rebels within a touchdown.  Following another Lebanon touchdown, Franklin County's Tyler Rhoten drilled a 41 yard field goal to cut the Lebanon lead to 19-10.  Each team scored again before the half.  With 2:00 remaining in the half Lebanon's Maynard hit Ethan Copas on a 17 yard touchdown pass.  The Rebels answered with Martin Hill's second touchdown run with :42 remaining in the half from 27 yards out and the Rebels trailed at the break 27-19.  The Rebels scored first in the second half as Rhoten connected on his second field goal of the game this time from 25 yards out and Franklin County pulled with a touchdown.  But the Blue Devils answered on a 36 yard touchdown run by Apple on the first play of the 4th quarter to go up 34-22.  The Rebels pulled within a touchdown again as DJ Samuels scored from 5 yards out with 6:08 remaining.  But Lebanon put the game out of reach with 2:14 remaining as Maynard hit Case Sloan on a 26 yard touchdown pass to seal the win.  The game was costly for the Rebels lost leading rusher Koleton Nunley and leading tackler Matt Stachel along with offensive and defensive starter Layton Wells to injuries.  The Rebels begin district play next week as they travel to Shelbyville.

REBELS LOSE HOMECOMING

For one half of football the Rebels held their own agaist the defending Class 4A State Champion Greeneville Green Devils but in the second half Greeneville's talent and experience proved to be too much.  Greeneville scored on their second offensive play on a 5 yard touchdown run by Taylor Shuffler.  The run was set up by 66 yard double pass to open the game.  Franklin County tied the score with 5:12 remaining in the first half on a 13 yard run by Koleton Nunley.  Greeneville answered with a 12 yard touchdown pass with :15 remaining to take a 14-7 lead into the half.  In the second half it was all Greeneville as they took the opening kickoff and marched down the field scoring on a 33 yard touchdown pass.  The Green Devils added two more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach with one quarter still to play.  Franklin County's Nunley provided the Rebels with one more touchdown on an 80 yard run with 6:00 left to play to make the score 41-14.  Following the kickoff the Green Devils put their starting offense back on the field to complete a 52 yard pass for a touchdown to put an exclamation point to the final score.

REBELS WIN FIRST REGION GAME

Lawrence County took the opening kickoff and scored on the second play of the game to take a quick 7-0 lead, but the Rebels responded with 42 unanswered points to win 42-14.  The Rebels also scored on their opening drive to tie the game at 7 on an 18 yard touchdown run by Koleton Nunley  with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter.  The Rebels took the lead with 20 seconds remaining in the quarter when AJ Blackwell scored on a 68 yard touchdown run.  The Rebels added 2 touchdowns in the second quarter.  Layton Wells scored on runs of 4 and 9 yards to give the Rebels a 28-7 halftime lead.  The Rebels scored two more times in the second half.  Nunley scored from 11 yards out and Martin Hill returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown.  The Rebels are now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the region.  The Rebels have a week off before hosting Tullahoma on September 30.

Tulllahoma Wins in 2 OT's

It was another heart breaking loss to Tullahoma as the Wildcats defeated the Rebels 31-30 in 2 OT's Friday night.  The Rebels scored first on the first play of the second quarter on a 20 yard touchdown pass from Caleb Limbaugh to Maurice Walker.  Tullahoma quickly answered on a 12 yard run by Trey Burks to tie the score with 9:10 remaining in the half.  Three minutes later Koleton Nunley broke free on a 65 yard run to the Tullahoma one yard line and scored on the next play to put the Rebels up 14-7.  After blocking a Franklin County punt the Cats scored again on a Montrell Berry 11 yard run to tie the score at 14 at the half.  The Rebels scored on their first possession of the second half as Tyler Rhoten nailed a 30 yard field goal to give the Rebels a 17-14 lead.  That lead would hold until the Rebels fumbled the snap on a punt attempt which gave the Wildcats the football in Rebel territory.  Joseph Burke tied the score with 1:53 remaining in regulation after making a 27 yard field goal which sent the game into overtime.  Both teams scored in the first overtime.  Nunley scored from 6 yards out and Tullahoma's Burks scored on the first play from the 10.  In the second overtime Burks scored again on the first play to put the Wildcats up by 7.  It took 4 plays for the Rebels to score on their second overtime possession as Nunley punched it across the line from 4 yards out.  The Rebels chose to go for the win by going for 2 points but came up 1 foot short on a Limbaugh bootleg run.  It was the 7th straight loss to Tullahoma and the all time series record is now 30-30-2.  The Rebels travel to defending 1A State Champion South Pittsburg next week.

Tullahoma Hangover?

Franklin County didn't have an answer for South Pittsburg's Jajuan Lankford.  The sophmore running back scored 5 touchdowns as the Pirates defeated the Rebels 38-7 on Friday night.  Lankford scored on runs of 47, 7, 25 and 7 yards in the first half as the Pirates led 30 to 0 at the half.  In the second half the Rebels only gave up a 19 yard touchdown run by Lankford.  The Rebels lone score of the game came with :07 remaining in the game when Caleb Limbaugh hit Layton Wells on a 19 yard touchdown pass to prevent the shut out.  The Rebels will travel to Lincoln County this Friday night for an important region contest.  Franklin County's Koleton Nunley needs 56 yards to break 1,000 yards rushing on the season.

Caleb Limbaugh hits Layton Wells for the Rebels only score Friday night.

Rebels Blast Raiders

The Franklin County Rebels racked up over 500 yards of offense and got a much needed win by knocking off Coffee County 52-35 on Friday night.  The Rebels scored on every offensive possession of the first half including their first play from scrimmage on a 72 yard touchdown run by Koleton Nunley, which tied the game early at 7.  The Raiders regained the lead 4 minutes later on a Murray 3 yard run.  But the Rebels answered quickly on Nunley's second touchdown run this time from 9 yards out. Following the only Raider punt of the night Franklin County's Layton Wells gave the Rebels their first lead as he scored from 8 yards out to put Franklin County up 21-14.  With 3:36 remaining in the half Coffee County's Rozier scored on a 25 yard run for the 3rd tie of the first half.  But the Rebels broke the tie as time expired in the half on a 37 yard field goal by Tyler Rhoten and led 24-21.  The Rebels took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on their 4th play as Nunley added his 3rd touchdown this time from 20 yards out.  The Raiders continued to keep pace with the Rebels during the 3rd quarter as Rosier scored on a 40 yard touchdown.  Nunley scored from 2 yards out with 4:28 remaining in the quarter but again Coffee County answered on a 40 yard double pass to pull within 3 at the end of the 3rd at 38-35.  But it was Franklin County that put the game away in the 4th as Caleb Limbaugh scored twice on 2 runs of 14 yards and Tyler Rhoten had a huge interception to ice the game.  Limbaugh's first touchdown run came after Coffee County, down by 3,  attempted a fake punt from their own 14 yard line with 6 minutes remaining that was unsuccessful.  Limbaugh's 2nd touchdown run came after Rhoten's interception which iced the game.  The Rebels were able to knockoff the Raiders despite numerous penalties including 11 personal foul penalities.  Nunley, who went over 1,000 yards last week, had 314 yards rushing which is the second highest total ever in a single game for a Rebel running back, second only to Terrance Martin who set the single game record back in 2009.   The Rebels will close out the regular season on Friday as Columbia comes to town for Senior Night. 

The Columbia Lions showed why the are the Region champs on Friday night as they put up 49 points in the first half and cruised to a 56-7 win over the Rebels in Franklin County's last game of the season.  The Lions scored on their second play of the game on a 72 yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0.  Franklin County tried to answer as their first possession went down to the Lion 38 yard line but the drive ended after a Rebel fumble.  After that it was all Columbia and the game was over by halftime.  The Rebels got their only touchdown with 1:35 remaining as Senior Matt Stachel scored from 4 yards out to avoid the shutout.  The Rebels finish the season at 3-7.

Rebels Lose Final Game

Stats:
Rushing Leaders:  Koleton Nunley - 18 carries for 102 yards; Layton Wells - 20 carries for 77 yards;  Timmy Farris- 4 carries for 30 yards; Javon Rice - 2 carries for 18 yards; Matt Stachel - 4 carries for 11 yards; AJ Blackwell - 4 carries for 1 yard.
Passing:  Caleb Limbaugh - 2of 4 for 15 yards.

Columbia:  23 plays for 461 yards (335 passing).