Coffee County?s wing-T too tough for WCHS to handle
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The defeat, which saw the Pioneers trail 26-14 at halftime before giving up two unanswered second-half touchdowns, marked the head coaching debut of new freshman mentor Andy Evans. After the game, Evans said he was disappointed with his team?s showing, but also viewed the loss as a learning experience.
?This was a tough loss,? he said, ?but we saw a lot of things we need to work on. We?ll go right back to work Monday, evaluating film and seeing what went right, and what didn?t.
?One definite thing is we need to do a better job tackling, and getting into position to make those tackles. Coffee County has a lot of good athletes, and a good backfield, but we?ve got to come out and do our job defensively, then take care of the ball offensively if we want to be successful.?
The Red Raiders found paydirt on their opening drive of the contest, using their wing-T offensive set to run the ball at WCHS from multiple angles behind Steven Jacobs, Matt Tomlin and fullback Austin Elwell.
With the run firmly established, CCHS struck for first blood through the air, with quarterback Brian Anderson connecting from 14 yards out with Tomlin to give the home squad an early lead. Anderson called his own number for the 2-point conversion, and the Raiders led 8-0 at the quarter?s end.
Coffee struck again halfway through the second quarter, with Tomlin carrying the ball for most of the drive, before scoring from 7 yards out to give his club a 14-0 lead.
With just under four minutes to play in the half Warren County found the end zone for the first time, with Jay Hutchings moving them across midfield with a 17-yard run before capping the possession with a 29-yard scoring run. Mark Harvey added the PAT, and the Pioneers trimmed the lead to a touchdown.
But a long kickoff return from Coffee?s Dakota Harris allowed Coffee County to start near midfield, and a 45-yard pass to Jordan Adcock put them in position for Anderson to score from the 1-yard line and give Manchester a 20-7 lead.
Warren County answered that TD with one of its own, as quarterback Bradley Steg connected with Cody Blaylock after taking a hard shot from an oncoming pass rusher. Blaylock hauled in the pass behind a leaping raider defender, and streaked to the end zone to complete a 63-yard pass.
Harvey?s kick once again pulled the Pioneers within a touchdown, but the ensuing kickoff went short, allowing the Raiders another start near midfield. With time running down Coffee went to the air, and Anderson connected with Tomlin for a 25-yarder before hitting Jacobs from 16 yards out for a TD, putting the homestanding Raiders on top 26-14 at halftime.
Warren County turned the ball over on downs on both of its third-quarter drives, but Coffee County was also unable to find the end zone, but they were knocking on the door at the period?s end, and scored three plays into the fourth quarter on a 12-yard Tomlin run.
The Raider defense forced WCHS to punt, and one play later Jacobs burst through the Pioneer defense, rumbling 72 yards for what would prove to be the final touchdown of the game.
Jacobs finished with 161 yards on 10 carries, while Tomlin had 125 on 15 attempts and Elwell had 92 on 17 touches. Anderson passed for 128 yards on six completions ? all of which came in the first half.
For the Pioneers, Hutchings had 113 yards on 11 carries, while Harvey had 38 yards on five touches and Steg passed for 65, completing 2-of-6 attempts.
The Pioneers travel to Soddy Daisy Monday, Aug. 28.