MATT TYSON

Staff Writer

The 2026 season officially got under way for Coffee County Middle School football Thursday evening.

Hosting Jasper at Carden-Jarrell Field, the Red Raiders were held to a single touchdown on the way to a 38-6 season-opening loss.

After Coffee County came up short on the game’s opening drive, Jasper took control on its first possession. Starting on their own 28 yard line, the Warriors proceeded to march down the field before punching into the end zone from four yards out to get on the board. Jasper followed with a successful 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Red Raiders fell further behind late in the second quarter, starting with a 27-yard touchdown pass for the Warriors on 3^rd & 1. Jasper followed with another 2-point conversion to make it a 16-0 game with 36 seconds left on the clock.

A Coffee County turnover on the following kick return gave the ball right back to the Warriors, who took advantage of the error by adding another touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the half. Jasper added another 2-point conversion on top of this to send the Red Raiders into the break trailing 24-0.

After the Warriors came away with another eight points to open the second half, Coffee County closed out the third quarter on the Jasper 2-yard line following a 34-yard fun for quarterback Braylon Jernigan.

After getting pushed back about 10 yards on the following play, the Red Raiders finally hit paydirt shortly after on a 12-yard pass from Jernigan to Josh Towery to get Coffee County on the board with 6:55 left in the game. The following field goal attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the Red Raiders down 32-6.

Jasper followed this up with one more touchdown of its own with 5:11 remaining. The 2-point attempt was unsuccessful this time around, bringing the game to what would be its final score.

Coffee County (0-1) hits the road to take on cross-county rival Tullahoma Tuesday evening. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.