HEARNE -- Turnover turnabout combined with pretty fair play for the Franklin Lions.

The Lions, who saw Hearne pick up a touchdown and lost one of their own because of fumbles, locked up a 20-15 victory over the Eagles with a late Lance Walker interception.

Franklin controlled the second half statistically but was turned aside in a third-quarter bid for the lead when quarterback Casey Cooke fumbled at Hearne's 1-yard line. Eagles senior defensive end Deterrius Franklin recovered.

The Lions' winning touchdown drive consumed 5 minutes, 17 seconds in the fourth period and took 12 plays to travel 55 yards. On a fourth-and-3, sophomore Darius Floyd squeezed through a narrow hole on a counter play to gain 8 yards, setting the stage for Luke Lowry to step the final yards into the end zone three plays later.

"We played sloppy, but to come out with a W is better than to come out with a loss," Franklin coach Mike Hedrick said. "I thought we came out and took care of business in the second.

Floyd carried 19 times for 155 yards and scored twice while fullback Dimitri Witherspoon complemented that effort with 85 yards on 19 carries, but the Lions had nine players rush the ball.

"Floyd is a good little back and our fullbacks ran well," said Hedrick, whose team rushed for 280 yards but was off-target on its only pass. "As you can see, we're a little one-dimensional. Floyd makes people miss. He's a pretty good little back."

The season-opening Robertson County Showdown at Wood Field was sloppy at times with turnovers and penalties, but it showcased two teams that displayed skill and potential.

The Lions knew they would have to deal with running back Kenneth Jones Jr. But in the first half, it was Jones' play on both offense and defense that gave them fits.

The senior back tied the game in the first quarter with a 48-yard fumble return for a touchdown. He ended the half with a 48-yard halfback pass to Dekendrick Jeffery, who had to battle through a tackle and leap into the end zone, finishing spectacularly. The play started with 4 seconds remaining. Francisco Alvarado's extra point kick gave the Eagles a 15-14 lead.

"We had a little injury bug this week and we hoping Kenneth would play," Hearne coach Ralph Lymas said. "He's a true stud. We had some miscues the first game, but they were supposed to blow us away because of what they've done the last three years. That whole third quarter, we played great football."

Franklin fashioned an impressive nine-play, 66-yard drive to open the game, taking the lead on 12-yard cutback run by Floyd. Hearne lost a fumble on its first play, but the Eagles recaptured momentum when Canton Calhoun could not hold a high pitch. Jones picked it up in front of the Lions' bench and raced the left side of the field untouched, allowing the Eagles to even the score at 8-8.

The defenses played well for much of the first half, but Franklin took a 14-8 lead with 45 seconds left when Floyd capped a 52-yard drive with a cut-and-paste duplication of his first score.

Hearne made the most of the limited time remaining. Jones carried twice for 29 yards, and after an incomplete pass he took a pitch and pulled up, finding Jeffrey open behind the Lions' defense.

The Eagles played without Sexton Curry this week after Lymas suspended the standout linebacker.

"Cody Rosprim is not playing right now, either, so overall we're OK," Lymas said. "[Franklin] had a chance to score three times in that third quarter and we didn't let 'em score, and that's the mark of a good football team."