The 99th edition of the Coffee Pot was a battle to the end. The Red Raiders beat the Tullahoma Wildcats 24-21 for their 33rd win in the series (64-33-2).
Tullahoma scored first on its first drive, as Will Hyden caught the Lucas Reed pass from 6 yards out for a 6-0 lead. The Wildcats failed on their two-point conversion attempt.
The Red Raiders again gained some good yardage on their next drive but couldn’t make it out of their end of the field and again had to punt.
As Tullahoma was driving again, a receiver slipped, and Caiden Warren intercepted a Wildcat pass in the second quarter, changing the game's momentum.
Coffee County put together a nice drive, and Caiden Martin, who had 149 yards rushing in the game, ran in a touchdown. After a Jayden Silva extra point, the Raiders led 7-6.
The Raiders forced Tullahoma to punt on its next drive. Senior Jayden Carter saw no Wildcats in his way after a short punt that bounced around the sideline. He picked up the ball and raced 62 yards for the touchdown with 1:06 to go in the first half. After the extra point, Coffee County led 14-6.
Tullahoma kicked a 28-yard field goal to end the scoring in the first half to make it 14-9 Coffee County.
In the third quarter, after a Wildcat punt pinned the Raiders at the 2-yard line, the offense stalled, forcing them to punt. The snap sailed over Will Rogers’ head, and Tullahoma picked up 2 points on a safety.
The Wildcats received the ensuing kickoff at midfield. After the kick, the ball was at the 50-yard line, and on their next play, Marvancy Johnson raced 50 yards to make it 18-14 Wildcats.
Coffee County fumbled the kickoff, and Tullahoma recovered. The Wildcats settled for a 38-yard field goal, which increased their lead to 21-14.
With eight minutes to play in the game, Deontae Short scored on a run for the Raiders, and another Silva extra point tied the game at 21.
Coffee County’s defense would force another Tullahoma punt with just over six minutes to go in the game.
The Raiders chewed up time on the drive to set up last week’s Giles Dunn Diamond Company Player of the Game, Jayden Silva, for a field goal attempt with only 19 seconds remaining. Silva split the uprights from 24 yards out to give Coffee County the 24-21 lead.
Tullahoma attempted a pass down the middle of the field, but Jayden Cater intercepted the ball at the 35-yard line. Quarterback Kaysen Lowry took a knee with one second left to seal the 24-21 win for the Red Raiders. The Coffee Pot was on its way to Manchester.
Offensively for Coffee County, Martin finished with an impressive 149 hard rushing yards on 27 carries and a score. Short added 70 yards on just 8 carries and a touchdown run. Martin was named the Giles Dunn Diamond Company Player of the Game.
The one-two punch of Tullahoma’s Marvancy Johnson and Khani Johnson was outstanding. Khani caught 9 passes for 147 yards, and Marvancy had 130 yards rushing on 22 carries. He was named the Owen's Provision Player of the Game for Tullahoma.
The 2-0 Red Raiders will play host to the rival Shelbyville (1-1) on Friday, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carden-Jerrell Field. Hear the game on The Rooster 101.5, www.rooster1015.com, or the Rooster 101.5 app.
Tullahoma (0-2) will host Rockvale (1-1) at 7 PM at Wilkins Stadium. The game can be heard on 93.9 The Duck, www.939theduck.com, or the 93.9 The Duck app.
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