S

With over three weeks to go before the 2024 TSSAA high school football season, let’s take a look at the Red Raiders schedule and break down each of their 10 opponents.

Aug. 23 Vs Franklin County

To open up the 2024 season, the Red Raiders will play host to a local rival in the Franklin County Rebels.

Last year, the Rebels went 3-8, finishing 3-3 in region play which was good enough to place fourth in 5A Region 5 and make the playoffs, where the Rebels would fall to the eventual 5A State Runners-up Page Patriots 50-14. During the 2023 season, the Rebels scored 20.4 points per game and allowed 30.8 points per game.

The Rebels have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, finishing 7-4 (3-2 in region play) in 2021 and 5-6 (2-3 in region play) in 2022.

Last year, the Red Raiders opened up their season with a low-scoring, 10-7 win in Winchester, and Coffee County is 3-2 in their last five meetings against the Rebels.

Aug. 30 at Tullahoma

For their first road contest of the year, the Red Raiders will travel down Highway 55 to Tullahoma for the 99th edition of The Coffee Pot Game.

In 2023, the Wildcats finished 8-4 with a 4-2 record in region play, scoring 23.2 points per game and allowing 14.2 points per game and placing second in 5A Region 5, earning them their first playoff berth since moving to the class 5A. In the playoffs, Tullahoma won their first round game against Nolensville 10-0, but then lost to Page 37-7 in the second round.

The Wildcats had recently won the 4A State Championship with a 15-0 record back in 2021 before moving up to class 5A and going 4-6 in 2022.

The Red Raiders were shut out 16-0 in last year’s meeting with Tullahoma, and the Red Raiders are 1-4 in the last five Coffee Pot matchups.

Sep. 6 Vs Shelbyville

Next up on the schedule is another local rival in the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles.

The 2023 season was Shelbyville’s first season after moving down from Class 6A, and the Golden Eagles went 10-2 with a 6-0 record in region play, winning the 5A Region 5 Championship. The Golden Eagles had a high-scoring offense last year, averaging 35.4 points per game, but they allowed 20.6 points per game on the defensive side. In the 5A Playoffs, the Golden Eagles beat Hillsboro 41-7 in their first round game, but then lost to Centennial 20-14 in the second round.

The Red Raiders lost last season’s matchup at Shelbyville 38-17, and Coffee County is 1-2 against the Golden Eagles since renewing their rivalry in 2021.

Sep. 13 Vs Siegel

The Red Raiders will open their 6A Region 3 slate at home against the Siegel Stars.

The Stars went 5-6 in 2023, and in region play they went 2-3 with a 21-0 win over Coffee County, a 24-21 loss at Blackman, a pair of 49-7 losses against Oakland and Riverdale and a 20-7 win at Rockvale. In their five region contests, the Stars scored just 15.2 points per game, and allowed 25.8 points per game.

In the 6A playoffs, the Stars were the third seed from 6A Region 3, losing their first round game to Cookeville 35-14.

The Red Raiders are 2-3 in their last five meetings with Siegel.

Sep. 20 at Page

Coffee County will go on a three week stretch of road games starting with arguably their toughest non-region opponent in the Page Patriots.

The Patriots had a 13-2 overall record last year, scoring 32.6 points per game and allowing just 12.4 points per game. In region play, the Patriots went 5-0, placing first in 5A Region 6.

The Patriots made it all the way to the 5A State Championship Game before losing to Knoxville West 24-19. The Patriots have finished runners-up in the State Championship game in each of the last three years.

The Red Raiders lost to Page 28-0 at home last year and are 0-3 in their last three meetings with the Patriots.

Sep. 27 at Riverdale

The Red Raiders will make their first Murfreesboro trip of the year when they take on the defending 6A Region 3 Champion Riverdale Warriors.

The Warriors went 10-3 in 2023, and had a 5-0 record in region play with a 41-6 win over Rockvale, a 49-0 shutout win at Coffee County, a 55-28 win over Blackman, a 49-7 win at Siegel and a thrilling, 25-24 win in the Battle of the Boro at Oakland. The Warriors scored an outstanding 43.8 points per game in their undefeated region slate while surrendering 13 points per game in those same five games.

In the postseason, the Warriors made it to the 6A State Quarterfinals, but were shutout 56-0 in a rematch with the Oakland Patriots.

The Coffee County Red Raiders are 0-5 in their last five meetings with Riverdale.

Oct. 3 at Rockvale

For their second and final trip to Murfreesboro, the Red Raiders will take on the Rockvale Rockets.

Rockvale finished the season with a 5-6 overall record, going 2-3 in district play with a 41-6 loss at Riverdale, a 35-0 loss against Oakland, a 31-7 win at Coffee County, a 27-22 win over Blackman and a 20-7 loss to Siegel, earning the fourth and final playoff berth from Region 3. In their five region contests, Rockvale scored 14.2 points per game and gave up 25.2 points per game.

In the 6A State Playoffs, the Rockets lost their first round game to Mt. Juliet, 29-19.

The Red Raiders are 4-1 all time against Rockvale with their most recent matchup being the only win in the series for the Rockets.

Oct. 18 Vs Oakland

The Red Raiders return home after a bye week to play arguably their toughest opponent of the season in the Oakland Patriots.

Last season, the Patriots went 12-3, finishing region play at 4-1 with a 42-7 win over Blackman, a 35-0 win at Rockvale, a 49-7 win at Siegel, a 42-0 win over Coffee County and a 25-24 loss to Riverdale, which placed them second in the 6A Region 3 standings. The Patriots scored 38.4 points per game and allowed only 7.8 points per game in their five region contests.

The Patriots would beat Riverdale in the 6A State Quarterfinals 56-0, then go on to the 6A Championship Game where they would lose to Houston 24-9. Oakland had won the 6A State Title in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The Red Raiders are 0-5 against Oakland in their past five meetings.

Oct. 25 at Ooltewah

Coffee County will make their final road trip of the regular season when they pay a visit to the Ooltewah Owls.

The Owls finished the 2023 campaign with a mark of 2-8, going 1-4 in region play and finishing fifth in the 5A Region 4 Standings.

Last year, the Red Raiders played host to Ooltewah on Senior Night, ending a seven game losing streak with a 42-12 win over the Owls.

Oct. 31 Vs Blackman

For the season finale, the Red Raiders will play host to Blackman on Halloween Night.

In 2023, the Blaze finished 4-6 with a 2-3 mark in region play, finishing fifth in the 6A Region 3 standings with a 42-7 loss to Oakland, a 24-21 win over Siegel, a 55-28 loss at Riverdale, a 27-22 loss at Rockvale and a 31-14 win over Coffee County. The Blaze averaged 22.4 points per game while giving up 31.8 points per game in their five region games.

The Red Raiders are 0-8 all-time against Blackman.

So, how will the Red Raiders fair in their first full season under Coach Roger Haynes? Will they reach their goal of getting back to the playoffs? Well, the road that makes up the 2024 season begins on Aug. 23, when the Red Raiders play host to Franklin County at 7 p.m.