MAGNOLIA — For three quarters and a half, Jamie Collins did hisbest impression of Superman before cramps slowed him down. TheFranklin County quarterback’s work would be supported by a cast ofX-Men to his rescue in Preston Griffith, Lee Turner, Bo Tillman,and Gary Rogers, as Franklin County won 21-14 in overtime over theSouth Pike Eagles.

It was the Bulldogs’ first victory in Magnolia since 1975.

“We beat a very good football team tonight,” said Bulldog headcoach Grady McCluskey. “This was a huge win for our program,players, fans, and community.”

A game-winning throw by Turner in overtime was the key play.

Turner, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound reserve quarterback, hit awide-open Rogers in the extra period to give the Bulldogs the lead.Franklin County and South Pike had clawed to a 14-14 deadlock inregulation.

“Coach called the play and Gary got open,” said a smiling Turnerafter the game. “This was a big win for our team.”

Still the Bulldogs had one more play of excitement left in them.On South Pike’s first offensive play in overtime, Bulldog defensivetackle Bo Tillman stripped the ball out of Eagles quarterbackTravorrious Marsalis’ hands, and senior linebacker Preston Griffithjumped on it to save the day.

“This is a tough one to lose,” said Eagles coach RandallHuffman. “It was a good ball game, with both teams making bigplays. Turnovers hurt us.”

Collins kept Franklin County in the game, until severe musclecramps forced him to the sidelines. The athletic 6-3, 210-poundCollins played both ways as a safety and quarterback. His big-hitabilities kept South Pike’s passing attack honest, the entiregame.

“A lot of my guys stepped up in a big way tonight,” saidMcCluskey. “Jamie was going both ways and he made some bigplays.”

For Collins, the biggest play came at the 5:35 mark of thefourth quarter when he intercepted Marsalis at the Bulldog 12-yardline and returned the ball to the South Pike 34-yard line. Crampswould get the best of Collins the rest of the way.

South Pike would recover a Franklin fumble on the next play.Both teams traded field position in the remaining minutes to forceovertime.

“This game could have went either way,” said Huffman. “FranklinCounty came in here ranked number three in 3A. We had our chancesagainst them. We just couldn’t get it done.”

Huffman’s Eagles (2-3, 1-1) jumped out to a 6-0 lead in thefirst quarter off a 45-yard touchdown connection from Marsalis towideout Derrick Ross.

The Bulldogs would answer in the second quarter with a JordanHunt 5-yard touchdown run. After kicker Jace Carlock added theextra-point kick, the Bulldogs entered halftime ahead 7-6.

Franklin County’s lead would be short-lived, as Marsalis wastedno time driving downfield to hook up with Ross from 9-yards out fora 12-7 Eagle lead. South Pike would add to the lead as Marsalis hitreceiver Brinson Johnson for the two-point conversion pass. SouthPike led 14-7.

“They (South Pike) got up on us but we came back,” saidMcCluskey. “They have a good ball team that played reallyhard.”

The Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0) tied the game up early in the fourthquarter off a Preston Griffith 3-yard run. Carlock’s extra-pointprovided the tie.

Turner entered the game late in the fourth frame, replacingCollins. His first pass of the game came with 0:06 remaining on anHail Mary attempt. It sailed out of bounds, but in overtime hissecond pass hit Rogers for the eventual game winner.

“I’m happy we won,” added Turner. “And glad I was a part ofit.”

Turner passed for 7 yards with a touchdown. Collins was 6-of-15for 75 yards.

On the ground, Griffith led the Bulldogs with 83 yards and atouchdown on 20 carries.

Bulldog junior wideout Ryne Tutor caught two passes for 31yards, while Sophomore Alex Smith had two receptions for 25yards.

For South Pike, Marsalis was 10-of-18 for 170 yards. He threwtwo touchdowns. Ross caught four passes for 77 yards and twoscores.

Defensively, Bo Tillman led Franklin Countywith 10 tackles and two pass deflections. Brandon Collins, GregHunt, and Gary Rogers each registered eight tackles. Jamie Collinsmade seven tackles and had an interception. Josh Tillman added sixhits and a sack.

Franklin County travels to West Marion next week. The Bulldogscontrol their own destiny in Region 7-3A. Their last district titlecame in 2003.

“It’s one game at a time,” said McCluskey. “One game at atime.”