An exhausted Dexter defense came up with the stop it needed to hold off Livonia Franklin for a 27-26 overtime win in the season opener Friday night. 

The Dexter defense had been on the field for almost the whole second half due to a struggling offense and a Franklin team that chewed up chucks of yards and clock in the third and fourth quarter, but it came up with the one play it needed to pull out the nail-biting win. 

The teams were tied at 20 after regulation, but Dexter struck first in overtime when quarterback Cooper Arnedt hit Gabe Rychener with a 15-yard scoring pass to take a 27-20 lead. 

Franklin had a shot to score with four plays from the ten and ran it in from four yards out to cut the Dexter lead to 27-26.  

The Patriots chose to go for the two-point conversion and the win, but Chance Sobbry and the Dreads defense stopped the ball carrier just short of the goal line to send the Dreadnaughts rushing the field with the victory. 

Dexter started quickly when Cole Novara returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score to give the Dreadnaughts the early lead. 

Franklin used its ball control offense to answer with a 75-yard scoring drive to tie game with a one-yard TD run to make it 7-7. 

The teams traded punts, and the Dreadnaughts went back on top when Arnedt hit Jaiden Juback with a 33-yard scoring pass for a 14-7 lead. 

Franklin answered with a 67-yard scoring drive and score to tie the game at 14. 

After Dexter punted the ball away, the Dreads got the ball back with an interception and wasted no time finding the endzone when Arnedt hit Novara for a 29-yard scoring pass. The two-point conversion failed, and the Dreads lead 20-14 at halftime. 

To say the second half was all Franklin might be an understatement. 

The Patriots took the second half kickoff and went on a 15-play scoring drive that ate up 11 minutes off the clock to tie the game at 20 after the extra point was missed. 

Dexter got the ball and on its second play of the half, Franklin picked off a pass to give the Patriots good field position but failed to score when the Dreads defense stopped them on fourth down. 

The Dreads offense went three-and-out and after a punt Franklin had a chance for the lead, but missed a field goal attempt to keep the game tied at 20. 

The Dexter offensive struggles continued with the Dreads again failing to pick up a first down and punting once again. 

Franklin again drove into Dreads territory and had a chance to take the lead, but another missed field goal kept the game tied and the teams would go into overtime, setting up an exciting finish. 

The Dreads high-powered offense was held to just 135 yards on the night with Arnedt going 6-10 for 89 yards and three touchdown passes.  

Juback caught three passes for 39 yards and a score, Novara one for 29 and a TD, and Rychener one for 15 and a TD. 

Ronnie Johnson rushed for 46 yards on ten carries and caught one pass for six yards. 

The Dreadnaughts will have their home opener Friday night when they host Saline in a huge SEC Red matchup. The winner of this game has won the league title the past two seasons with the teams splitting the two games since Dexter moved to the SEC Red in 2022.