B

After a strong first half from Coffee County in the 100th Coffee Pot game, the Red Raiders could not handle the big-play ability of the Tullahoma Wildcats, losing the matchup 57-23.

With 6:21 left in the second quarter, hopes were high on the Red Raider sideline. Junior quarterback Kaysen Lowery just capped off a drive with a 12-yard touchdown run, to give the Red Raiders a 17-15 lead. Up until that point, besides a kickoff return touchdown, Coffee County had limited the Tullahoma offense. And they were also doing a good job of containing their star senior running back, Marvancy Johnson. That tune, however, quickly faded as the second half melted away. On the Wildcats’ next drive, starting QB Lucas Reed connected with one of his wide receivers for a 37-yard touchdown. The Wildcats got the lead back at 22-17, and quickly expanded on it.

Lowery, on the following Raiders’ possession, tried to create a play with his legs, but was hit high and hard, resulting in a fumble. The Wildcats recovered and put up another touchdown off a two-yard QB sneak by Reed with 1:04 left in the half. Coffee after these two scores from Tullahoma could not find their way back into the game, as Johnson, who got limited touches in the first half for the Wildcats—seven–took over the game in the final two quarters.

The Wildcats’ fourth-year running back returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a score and followed it with two more touchdowns in the half—a 48-yard screen pass score and a 35-yard TD run.. And although Coffee grabbed the loss in the big rivalry bout, some Red Raiders players had big impacts, which left a lot to be excited about moving forward in this season.

Junior WR and LB Jett Trussler had a dynamic game on offense for Coffee. He logged 110 total yards of total offense, both receiving and rushing. He had three rushes for 61 yards and three receptions for 49 yards. The majority of the Red Raiders’ offensive weapons are not seniors. One of those weapons is sophomore running back Corontez Garrett. He had seven rushes for 54 yards, with one of his runs being a 12-yard, bulldozing TD dash in the second half.

The Red Raiders will look to build off those positives and learn from the bad plays they had in their next game this Friday against Wilson Central. Wilson looks to be a strong opponent, having a 2-0 record. They have also scored 33 or more points in both contests.