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FRANKLIN - All it took was one touchdown to put the Cougars of Tri-County back in the Mayflower Small driver's seat.

With 2:10 remaining in the first half, Tri-County's do-it-all quarterback Randy Hardy took a direct snap and powered through the Nantucket defense, pushing past a defender at the goal line for a 6-yard touchdown run to put the Cougars on top 6-0, capping an 89-yard drive.

And that would be the only scoring of the day, both teams struggling in the wind and mud at Tri-County High School as the Cougars came away with a 6-0 victory and sole possession of first place in the Mayflower Small.

Both teams came into the contest with 4-1 league records, the Cougars having already defeated the Whalers 28-0 earlier in the year. This time there would be nowhere near as much offense, has continuously strong gusts of wind combined with the extremely muddy field at Tri-County to limit offense for both squads.

Nantucket fumbled the ball four times and combined for just 76 yards of total offense. Tri-County never threatened to score after the game-winner and almost gave the game back to Nantucket, fumbling the ball away with a minute remaining as the Cougars attempted to run out the clock. "I'll take it," Tri-County coach Dan MacLean said. "The conditions hurt us today. The wind and the mud killed us."

Meanwhile, penalties killed the Whalers.

Nantucket was whistled for a big 15-yard penalty after pinning the Cougars on their own 11 yard line going into the wind, helping Tri-County score the game's only touchdown. Then, after the Cougar fumble with time running out, Nantucket committed a 15-yard chop-block penalty on its first pass attempt, moving the ball back to its own 40 and effectively ending any chance at a comeback.

Both defenses dominated in the early going, neither team reaching the other's red zone until the Cougars eventually scored. With just over five minutes remaining in the game Nantucket boomed a 69-yard punt with the wind at its back to pin Tri-County at its own 11 and seemingly give the Whalers an advantage in the battle for field position.

But on the first play from scrimmage Hardy hit Evan Puopolo at the 20-yard line and a roughing the passer penalty moved Tri-County to the 35. Steve Hogan took the next handoff up the middle to the 48, then Hardy ran a keeper to the Nantucket 38 for two straight first downs.

Hogan then delivered the game-breaker, taking a handoff up the middle and breaking tackles down to the six yard line before he was brought down via a facemask, moving the ball to the Nantucket three. Two plays later Hardy ran the ball in for the score.

The Nantucket defense keyed on Hardy all day, allowing Hogan to run for 76 yards on just eight carries.

"Steve was the guy today," MacLean said. "We knew we had to get up the middle and cut outside."

The two teams traded punts in the second half until Nantucket finally began to move the ball on a possession that started on the Whalers' 39-yard line. Thanks to a key fourth-down conversion the Whalers found themselves facing first down from the Cougars 15-yard line with around four minutes left, but a stuffed run, two incompletions and a sack on fourth down gave the ball back to Tri-County with 3:33 remaining.

"They've been doing it all year," MacLean said of his defense. "They bend but they don't break, they just keep fighting. The linebackers, the line, all year long they've done a real nice job." The Cougars looked poised to run the clock out after Hogan picked up two first downs. But with 1:01 remaining on the clock Hardy fumbled on a keeper on second down, Nantucket recovering to give themselves one more chance.

But after the chop-block it was all over. The Whalers attempted a hook-and-lateral on second-and-25 but the ball was fumbled, Tri-County recovering to end the game.

"I'm proud of my defense at the end," MacLean said. "They really stepped up and did what they had to do to win the game."

The Cougars, now 5-1 in the league, will go to the MIAA playoffs for the second straight year if they win their two remaining league games. Before last year Tri-County had never made the MIAA playoffs.

"Destiny is in our hands so we have to finish now," MacLean said. "We just have to win our games and get better every day. The kids knew this was going to be a big game, that first place was going to be on the line and that this was going to be a dogfight.

"They had a chance to buckle at the end of the game but they kept fighting. They fought and fought and fought and I'm so proud of them."