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The 99th edition of the Battle for the Coffee Pot is sure to go down as one of the best games in series history, as the Red Raiders beat the Tullahoma Wildcats in a wild one, 24-21.

Coffee County would receive the ball on the opening kickoff, and gain some good yardage on their first possession, but the Wildcats would stop them at the Tullahoma 42 yard line, forcing the Red Raiders to punt.

Tullahoma would strike first, scoring on their first drive with a passing touchdown to take a 6-0 lead with 4:56 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats would fail the ensuing two point conversion.

The Red Raiders again gained some good yardage on their next drive, but couldn’t make it out of their end of the field and again had to punt.

Tullahoma would make it to the Coffee County 27 as the game flipped over to the second quarter and try a field goal attempt, but the kick landed short of the goal post.

Coffee County’s offense continued to struggle on the next drive, and a bad snap turned a third-and-short into a fourth-and-long, backing the Red Raiders up to their own 12 where they were again forced to punt.

During Tullahoma’s next drive, Coach Haynes called Coffee County’s second timeout of the half and had a long talk with his team.

“We had to settle down and do our job on defense,” said Head Coach Roger Haynes. “We weren’t mentally in the game…I felt like if we could settle down and hold them (Tullahoma) on defense, we would have an opportunity.”

The talk seemed to work, as Caiden Warren snatched the ball out of the air for a Red Raider interception, giving Coffee County some pivotal momentum.

The Red Raiders used that momentum and marched down the field, capping things off with a rushing touchdown by Caiden Martin to tie the score at 6-6. Coffee County would make the extra point attempt, and with 3:07 to play in the first half, the Red Raiders had assumed a 7-6 lead.

Coffee County would force Tullahoma to punt on their next possession, and Jayden Carter scooped up the ball and ran it back 60 yards for another Red Raider touchdown, sending the visiting fans into a frenzy. The Red Raiders would make the extra point attempt, and with 1:06 remaining in the first half, Coffee County led 14-6.

With little time remaining, Tullahoma marched all the way down to the Red Raider 13 yard line and nailed a 28 yard field goal at the end of the half, but Coffee County went into the locker room still up 14-9.

Both teams would punt on their first drives of the second half, and after Tullahoma was forced to punt on their second drive of the third quarter, the Wildcats pinned the Red Raiders down to their own two yard line.

Coffee County couldn’t seem to get going on offense, and after a penalty called on Torin Van Zandbergen, the Red Raiders snapped the ball too high on the next play, and the ball went through the end zone for a Tullahoma safety, making the score 14-11.

The Wildcats would receive the ball at the 50 yard line after the kick, and on their next play, went 50 yards on a rushing attempt to reach the end zone and take the lead 18-14 after the extra point attempt.

It looked as if things were falling apart for the Red Raiders, who then botched the ensuing kick return, giving Tullahoma the ball on the Coffee County 11.

However, the Red Raiders held strong, forcing Tullahoma to kick a 39 yard field goal, which they made to extend their lead to 21-14.

Coffee County’s next drive would roll into the fourth quarter, and with eight minutes to play, Deontae Short punched his way into the endzone, and with an extra point, the Red Raiders tied the score at 21-21.

Tullahoma would stall out on their next drive, and with over six minutes left to play, the Red Raiders began another march to the end zone.

The Raiders would burn over five minutes of game clock, and even tried a different formation with Jayden Carter taking snaps.

Coffee County would be on the doorstep of another touchdown, but they couldn’t punch it through, choosing instead to burn the clock down to 13 seconds left and attempt to win the game on a field goal attempt.

Jayden Silva’s attempt from 24 yards would sail through, giving Coffee County a 24-21 lead.

Tullahoma would have one more chance on offense, but the Red Raiders intercepted the ball, sealing their second Coffee Pot win in three seasons and fourth win in the last 10 years of the series.

The Red Raiders and the Manchester faithful brought so much energy, that the transformers at Wilkins Stadium blew right before the trophy was handed out.

“For the fans and for the players it was a great win,” said head coach Roger Haynes. “We made a lot of mistakes as a coaching staff tonight, but in the end, we willed ourselves to win the game. You can’t enjoy these wins very long, because you have to get right back to work and next week, we have a tough test coming up.”

The 2-0 Red Raiders will play host to the rival Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles on Friday, Sept. 6 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles are now 1-1 on the season and are coming off of a 47-35 loss to Marshall County.