Raiders return from bye week with loss to Oakland
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The Red Raiders returned to the friendly confines of Carden-Jarrell field for the first time in five weeks, but the visiting Oakland Patriots dealt Coffee County their fourth straight loss, 42-10.
Coffee County would receive the ball on their own 29 to begin the first half, and their offense looked pretty fresh out of the bye week with Deontae Short and Caiden Warren each picking up big first down runs.
The Red Raiders would make it all the way down to the Oakland 7-yard line, but would have to settle for a 14-yard field goal from Jayden Silva to take a 3-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
Oakland’s first possession would begin at their own 35-yard line. The Patriots would march the ball all the way to the Red Raider 34, but Coffee County would stop a fourth-and-eight passing attempt by the Patriots to take over on downs.
Coffee County would be forced to punt after making it to their own 47. The Patriots were quick on the draw, as the punt was blocked and then recovered by Chase Bandy, who ran it to the house for a score. With over nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, Oakland assumed a 7-3 lead.
The Red Raiders would stall out on their own 43 on the next drive, forcing them to punt, but this time the punt got away cleanly and Oakland took over on their own 42.
The Patriots would find the end zone for their first offensive touchdown of the night, as Daune Morris broke free on a 42-yard scamper to give Oakland a 14-3 lead with 4:10 remaining in the first half.
Coffee County would again be forced to punt on their next drive from their own 27, and the Patriots returned it back to the Red Raider 28.
The Patriots would convert on a fourth-and-long passing attempt from the Raider 28, then punch it into the end zone on a rush by Aivery Haynesworth to take a 21-3 lead with 12 seconds left in the half, which they kept heading into the locker room.
The Red Raiders would come out flying out of the halftime break, as Caiden Warren delivered a sizable hit on the Oakland kickoff return to force a fumble that was recovered by Coffee County on the Oakland 19.
Coffee County took advantage of the Patriot’s miscue, as Jayden Carter found his way in for a rushing touchdown to make the score 21-10 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Oakland went right back to work on offense, as Chase Bandy scored on a rushing touchdown for his first offensive score and second overall score of the night to give Oakland a 28-10 lead with 4:28 to go in the third.
Bandy continued to produce some fireworks for the visiting fans, as the Oakland senior intercepted a Kaysen Lowery pass on the next Red Raider possession to give the Patriots the ball back at the Coffee County 46.
The Patriots would fail to cash in, as Jayden Carter snuffed out a rushing attempt on fourth down to force a turnover.
It wouldn’t take long for Oakland to get the ball back, as the Raiders coughed up the ball on their own 15.
This time, the Patriots took advantage, as Craig Tutt pushed his way into the endzone for a rushing touchdown to give Oakland a 35-10 lead to begin the fourth quarter.
Coffee County would turn the ball over again on their next possession, as Lowery threw a pass that landed in the arms of Kullen Williams, who ran it all the way back for a score to give the Patriots a 42-10 lead that would stick until the end of regulation.
“We felt really good about that first quarter, but it went downhill after that blocked punt,” said Coach Roger Haynes. “From that point, our team put their heads down and then it snowballed. I thought our defense gave a great effort, we just had too many turnovers that gave the other team good field position.”
Even though next week’s contest in Ooltewah is a non-region affair, Coach Haynes doesn’t want his team to look at it lightly.
“We have to have that win,” he said. “We need to go in there mentally focused, but we also need to have fun. The game is supposed to be fun and you don’t need to be afraid to make a mistake.”
With the loss to Oakland, Coffee County falls to 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in region play.
The Ooltewah Owls (0-8) will be coming off their bye week, having lost all eight of their games by 26 points or more. Coffee County won last year’s meeting in Manchester, 42-12 and the Red Raiders will be looking for their fourth win of the season when they travel to Ooltewah on Friday, Oct. 25 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.
