September 12, 2026
Raiders come up just short in region opener
MATT TYSON
Staff Writer
Coffee County football was within striking distance late in the fourth quarter against Franklin Friday night.
Taking on the Admirals for their Class 6A Region 6 opener, the Red Raiders trailed by six with less than two minutes remaining but ultimately returned home with a 26-20 loss.
The result put Coffee County at 2-2 overall, while Franklin shot up to 3-1 and a first-place 2-0 in the region standings.
The Admirals got on the board early, capping off the game’s opening drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt failed, leaving Coffee County trailing 6-0 with 6:43 left in the first quarter.
The Red Raiders answered right back on their first possession of the night. Starting on their own 15-yard line, the Red Raider offense marched down the field, reaching deep into Franklin territory on a 23-yard pass from Kaysen Lowery to Kam Stafford. Tez Garrett followed this up not long after with a five-yard run to set Coffee County up on the Franklin 2-yard line to close out the first quarter.
Lowery took it the rest of the way to open the second quarter, carrying the ball in the final two yards to put Coffee County on the board as well. The Red Raiders’ extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, leaving it a 6-6 game with 11:51 remaining in the first half.
The Admirals answered once again on their next drive, capping it off with a 10-yard push into the end zone to retake the lead. Their extra point attempt was good this time around, leaving Coffee County down 13-6 with 8:04 to go until halftime.
The Red Raiders got the ball back in favorable territory, starting the drive at their own 46-yard line thanks to a long kick return from Matthew White. After driving to within 10 yards of the end zone, a fumble recovered by Franklin cost Coffee County a chance to tie the game.
The Admirals took advantage of the turnover, taking off for an 87-yard touchdown run with 1:11 on the clock. The PAT was good, ultimately sending the Red Raiders into halftime trailing 20-6.
After a lightning delay early in the third quarter led to a temporary break in play, Franklin eventually came up short on a missed field goal attempt with 6:44 on the board, leaving the Red Raiders down by 14.
Coffee County’s ensuing drive started on its own 20-yard line and continued down to the other end of the field from there. Facing a 3rd & 6 situation at the Red Raider 48-yard line, Lowery delivered an 11-yard pass to White to get into Franklin territory.
After Lowery connected with Luke Christian for a 15-yard pass on 4th and 1 later in the drive to set the Red Raiders up on the Franklin 5-yard line, Garrett took it the rest of the way over the next two plays for a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter. Gaiden Bellamy’s extra point kick sailed through the uprights, cutting the Admiral lead to 20-13.
Franklin went on to answer immediately, taking the following kick return to the house with 20 seconds left on the clock. The extra point was no good, sending Coffee County into the fourth quarter trailing 26-13.
After White’s kick return set the Red Raider offense up on their own 40-yard line shortly before the end of the quarter, Lowery hit Joe Jordan for an 11-yard pass to get the Red Raiders into Admiral territory.
Coffee County continued to move deeper down the field from there, with Lowery using his legs to reach the end zone from 15 yards out. Bellamy followed this up with the PAT, cutting the Franklin lead to 26-20 with 10:19 left to play.
The Admirals followed this up with a long offensive possession that took them within reach of the Red Raider goal line, but their drive ended when Samuel Patrick brought the Admiral runner down in the backfield on 4th & 1 to force a turnover on downs and give Coffee County a chance to take the lead.
Starting off on the 7-yard line, Coffee County quickly got to its 24-yard line on a pass interference call against Franklin. The Red Raiders were unable to continue advancing the ball from there, turning the ball back over to the Admirals on downs to set Franklin up in victory formation.
After three straight weeks on the road, Coffee County returns home to take on region foe Independence Friday night. Kickoff of the week 5 matchup is set for 7 p.m.
