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In a Thursday night region tilt, the Red Raiders got on the board first, but 21 unanswered points fueled Rockvale to a 21-7 win over the Red Raiders.

After two straight shutout losses to Page and Riverdale, the Coffee County Red Raiders were looking to right the ship in a region road contest at Rockvale, but the Rockets would not allow Coffee County to spoil their homecoming festivities.

Rockvale would receive the ball to begin the first half, and their game-opening drive would go nowhere. The Rockets would punt from their own 32-yard line and the Red Raiders would receive the ball at their own 26.

Coffee County would also struggle on their first possession, as the Red Raiders went three-and-out, and Caiden Martin punted the ball down to the Rockvale 38.

The Rockets would respond with a three-and-out of their own, punting from their own 43 and down to the Red Raider 12.

Coffee County would again stall out on offense, and the Red Raiders would be forced to punt from their own 16.

Rockvale would have excellent field position from the Coffee County 38, but the Rockets would turn it over on downs at the Raider 34.

The Red Raiders would finally break through, as Deontae Short found a hole in the Rocket defense for a 64-yard scamper to the end zone for a touchdown. With the extra point, Coffee County took a 7-0 lead with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter.

Rockvale wasn’t able to respond on their next drive, and the Rockets went three-and-out, punting the ball from their own 31.

Coffee County would go quiet on their next turn with the football, punting from their own 41 to begin the second quarter of play.

The Rockets would get their offense going, reaching midfield on their next possession, but the Red Raiders forced a turnover as Caiden Martin snagged the ball out of the air for an interception at the Coffee County 16.

Coffee County couldn’t get any momentum from the big defensive play, and the Red Raiders again went three-and-out.

Rockvale’s offense showed some fireworks on their next drive, as Riley Tally caught a long pass from Jaevion Elliott to tie the score at 7-7 with 6:50 left in the first half of play. The score would remain that way until the two teams marched to the locker room.

Out of the halftime break, the Red Raiders received the football, but were stopped by the Rockets on yet another three-and-out.

Rockvale would march well inside Coffee County territory, but a field goal attempt from the Raider 18 would be blocked by the Red Raider defense.

Coffee County’s run game would show some sparks on a 33-yard first down run by Deontae Short that put Coffee County on the Rockvale 37, but a Kaysen Lowery pass ended up in the hands of Riley Talley, and the Rockets took over on their own 44.

Rockvale would take advantage of the turnover, as Jaevion Elliott threw a touchdown pass to Jaylan Morgan, giving the Rockets a 14-7 lead with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.

The Red Raiders were unable to answer back on their next drive, and Rockvale would again receive the ball on a Coffee County punt.

As the game entered the fourth quarter, Rockvale’s offense went right back to work, reaching the Coffee County 38, where Jaevion Elliott would go down with a leg injury after a big hit by the Coffee County defense. Elliott would have to be carted off, but seemed to be okay otherwise.

Losing their starting signal caller wouldn’t deter the Rockets, who on the next play reached the Coffee County 2-yard line on a run by Jaylan Morgan. Romeo George would later punch in a touchdown run for the Rockets, extending their lead to 21-7.

Coffee County would never find a counterpunch, punting on their next drive and throwing another interception on their last drive, giving Rockvale an important region win.

“We played terribly,” said Coach Roger Haynes bluntly. “There was lack of discipline, lack of focus and lack of effort. If you can’t move the ball or get a first down, it not only affects the offense, but your defense as well.”

The Red Raiders will now go into their bye week after losing three consecutive games by a combined score of 84-7.

“I don’t think the problem is the offense as much as the teams we’ve been playing,” said Haynes. “We played Page and Riverdale and it seems like they beat everyone forty-something to seven or something like that. When we play these teams and have kids who are hurt, we don’t really have anybody that we can plug in and play. We have a lot of young kids, and when you play younger kids against kids who have a lot of experience, it’s gonna show. We need to heal up and get well during this bye week.”

Coffee County (3-4, 1-2 in 6A Region 3) will return to action at home against Oakland on Friday, Oct. 18 at Carden-Jarrell Field with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

The Oakland Patriots (7-0, 3-0 in 6A Region 3) will be coming off of their bye week after a 42-7 home win over Siegel on Oct. 3 when they make the trip to Manchester.