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On Monday night, the CCCHS Red Raiders scored in the final five minutes to lift them over the Lincoln County Falcons 1-0, but the win was overshadowed by a scuffle between players in the final seconds of the game.

For 75 minutes, the game was deadlocked in a 0-0 defensive battle and neither team could break through for a score.

With five minutes to go, the Red Raiders got their chance, as Patrick Brown scored his fifth goal of the season to break the scoreless tie. Cayden Trail would get the assist.

As the final seconds on the clock began to tick away, the Red Raiders would attempt to push the ball up field for another scoring attempt, but the Coffee County player possessing the ball was tackled hard by a defender for Lincoln County.

After the tackle, mass chaos ensued as several players got involved in a scuffle.

“It was a tight game and emotions were high,” said Coffee County Coach Robert Harper. “We don’t like to see that type of thing on a soccer field and hopefully we won’t ever see it again. I hope that the kids learned a lesson from that.”

When the dust settled, several players were given a red card by the referees, including three from Coffee County.

“It was chaos and it was kids not being in control of their emotions and not finishing off a game without making the right decisions,” said Coffee County Athletic Director Brad Costello. “We’ll have to deal with it moving forward, and hopefully our team doesn’t suffer after losing a couple of players.”

The final few seconds were still managed to be played out and the Red Raiders would secure the win.

“We didn’t play well most of the night,” said Coach Harper. “We didn’t possess the ball well, our touches weren’t very good and our passes weren’t very good, but Cayden and Patrick both made an excellent play to create that goal in the end. Lincoln County played really well tonight and I would like to tip my hat to them as well.”

The Red Raiders are now 9-1-2 on the season with a 4-1-2 mark in district play and they are scheduled to play at Spring Hill on Tuesday, Apr. 23 for their next contest.