Wildcats Win 100th Coffee Pot

After spotting Coffee County a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes, the Tullahoma Wildcats set a

new Coffee Pot scoring record by beating the Red Raiders 57-23 in Manchester Friday night in

the 100th edition of the county rivalry. The previous point record came in 1955, with Tullahoma winning 52-6.

Tullahoma (2-0) will host non-conference Cleveland (0-2) this Friday at 7 p.m. on 93.9 The

Duck. The Blue Raiders fell to McMinn County 40-29 last week. The Red Raiders (1-1) will host

Wilson Central on Friday.

After Coffee County drove 72 yards in eight plays, scoring on an 11-yard run by quarterback

Kaysen Lowery to lead 7-0, the Red Raiders & #39; kickoff was taken at the goal line by Wildcat sophomore Zion Jeffery and returned 100 yards for a touchdown, tying a Tennessee high school record. Chase Dodson’s PAT tied the game at 7-7 with 7:50 remaining in the first

quarter.

After exchanging punts, Tullahoma QB Lucas Reed connected with Marvancy Johnson for an

80-yard touchdown pass. PAT holder Patrick Riddle ran for a two-point conversion, increasing

the lead to 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Red Raider kicker Trey Caron connected on a 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter,

cutting Tullahoma’s lead to 15-10. After a botched Wildcat punt attempt, Coffee County scored

on an eight-yard run by Lowery to regain the lead 17-15.

Reed threw a wide receiver screen to Jeffery, named the Tullahoma Nutrition Player of the

Game, who raced 37 yards to score with 2:19 left in the first half, giving the Wildcats a 22-17 lead. After Tullahoma recovered a Red Raider fumble, Reed scored from two yards out, and the Wildcats went into halftime leading 29-17.

Tullahoma scored three touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter, starting with an

87-yard kickoff return by Johnson. Coffee County came right back and cut the lead to 36-23 with 7:29 remaining in the third, but from there, it was all Tullahoma.

Reed connected with Johnson for 48 yards and a score. After a fourth-down sack by

Tullahoma’s Sylas McGowen, Johnson raced 35 yards to increase the lead to 50-23. On their

final drive of the night, Tullahoma overcame three holding penalties and completed the scoring

with Riddle converting from three yards away.

Unofficially, Reed was 12-15 for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson touched the ball 11times and gained 287 yards with four touchdowns. Jeffery had two scores and 137 yards on only two touches.