B

Coffee County football led Wilson Central with 47 seconds left to play Friday night. One tick of the clock later, everything changed.

A late touchdown for the Wildcats sealed the Red Raiders’ fate in a 29-22 loss at Carden-Jarrell field, dropping them to 1-2 on the season.

“Effort was good. That’s not been an issue at all at any point this season. Execution at times continues to be an issue and it all starts with the staff. We’ve got to do a better job of making sure that Ts are crossed and Is are dotted,” Coffee County coach Brandon Harmon said. “The kids, they’re the ones that play between the lines, but we’ve got to continue to grow as a staff and we’ve got to do a better job at getting those guys prepared and making sure that every stone is looked under and nothing’s left on the table.”

Wilson Central got things started with a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, but Coffee County answered right back on its first offensive possession. Opening the drive on the Wildcat 34-yard line following a long punt return from Matthew White, the Red Raiders capped it off with an 11-yard scamper into the end zone by quarterback Kaysen Lowery. Trey Caron’s extra-point attempt sailed through the uprights, equalizing the game at 7-7 with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter.

Still a 7-7 game late in the first half, Coffee County took control when Kane Dixon recovered a Wilson Central fumble near midfield and took the ball all the way back for a touchdown. Caron followed up with the extra-point attempt to send the Red Raiders into the break with a 14-7 lead.

Coffee County remained ahead by seven until around the midway point of the third quarter, when Wilson Central answered with a 70-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats followed this up with a successful two-point conversion attempt to take a 15-14 lead on the Red Raiders with 6:46 on the clock.

Following Wilson Central’s touchdown, Coffee County began a long drive that continued through the third quarter’s remainder. Opening the fourth quarter on the Wildcat 4-yard line, the Red Raiders punched it in from there on a quarterback keeper from Lowery. Lowery took care of business once more on the two-point conversion to put Coffee County up 22-15 with 11:55 left to play.

Now trailing by seven once more, Wilson Central began the next possession on its own 31-yard line and proceeded to march into Red Raider territory.

After a flag on Coffee County put the Wildcats on the 9-yard line, Wilson Central pushed its way to the Red Raider 1-yard line before reaching paydirt on the next play. Dixon denied the Wildcats’ 2-point attempt with a stop in the backfield, preserving a 22-21 Coffee County lead with 5:26 remaining.

After a three-and-out for the Red Raider offense, Wilson Central once again began a drive deep in its own territory before reaching the Coffee County 1-yard line. The Wildcats proceeded to run into the end zone once more, then added the two-point conversion to put the Red Raiders down 29-22 with 46 seconds left on the board.

With time of the essence on Coffee County’s next drive, Lowery hit Teagen Stem and White for a couple of passes to move the sticks. The next two passes fell incomplete before the clock struck zero.

“We’re very young. We’ve got three guys that were counted on last year to win games out of 89, so sometimes in order to learn how to win, you have to go through these games. You have to lose a battle and learn what it takes to win in that moment. It doesn’t just happen overnight,” Harmon said. “These guys, a lot of them weren’t even backups last year, so I think something we can take from tonight is they’re battled-tested now. You’ve been in the game late in the fourth quarter and I think we made some mistakes down the stretch that are indicative of a team that’s young and never been in that situation.”

Coffee County will look to get back on track next Friday when it hosts Franklin for its region opener. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.