MANCHESTER—The
Tullahoma Wildcats gaveth--the Coffee County Red Raiders tooketh.
With apologies to all who advocate proper usage of the English language, that short sentence does accurately portray what happened Friday night in the Tullahoma Wildcats’ 42-21 loss to Coffee County in the annual Coffee Pot game. The Wildcats turned the ball over six times in the game, and the Red Raiders took what they were given and, literally, ran with it.
Four of the
turnovers led to Coffee County touchdowns and another, an interception
in the end zone, stopped a Wildcat drive that could have made it a seven-point
game early in the fourth quarter. The final turnover, another interception,
came late in the game and ended Tullahoma’s final possession.
The contest before a packed house at Coffee County Stadium started out looking more like a track meet than a football game. The two teams scored 28 points in the first 7:39 and were tied 14-14. Even though they put two quick scores on the board, the Wildcats looked from the beginning like they were practicing for the greased pig skin contest at this week’s Coffee County fair.
After stopping Coffee County at the Wildcat 17 on the first possession of the game, Tullahoma fumbled it right back to the Raiders on the 10, and it took only two plays for Justin Kanjantamount to score, and the kick made it 7-0.
On Tullahoma’s next play from scrimmage, Bobby Dowdell broke a 60-yard run to the Raider 16, Ryan Bean ran 15 more, then Chris Bishop rammed it into the end zone from the one. Craig Roper’s kick made it 7-7.
The Raiders had a turnover of their own on the next possession, and the Wildcats took just one play to score when Dowdell broke tackles near the Raider sideline and flew 53 yards for a score, and Roper made it 14-7. Coffee County came right back with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the next drive and tied it 14-14.
The Wildcats put together a solid drive from their own 24 on the next possession with a 42-yard pass from Bishop to Ryan Bean the big blow. But, the Cats fumbled at the Raider 22, and Coffee County took over and put together the defining drive on the contest.
The Raiders started with 55.4 seconds left in the first quarter, and 16 plays later they had pounded the ball all the way down the field to take a 21-14 lead on Blake Tinsley’s four-yard run with 4:48 left in the half.
Tullahoma again fumbled on the ensuing kick off, and the Raiders were right back in business at the Wildcat 25. Again, they simply pounded the ball straight at the Wildcats, and eight plays later Kanjantamount scored from the two to give his team a 28-14 lead.
Tullahoma’s
offense took the field for the first time in the second quarter with just
1:06 left. A sack and two incomplete passes later, the Cats punted it
away, and Coffee County ran the clock out to take a 28-14 lead into the
locker room.
The Raiders scored quickly to take a 35-14 lead early in the third quarter, and Tullahoma found itself in near desperation mode. The Wildcats drove 57 yards for a score, converting two fourth downs along the way. The first conversion came on a pass from Bishop to Jared Olive for the initial first down of the drive, and the second came on fourth and goal from the seven when Bishop hit Cody Quick for a touchdown. The kick made it 35-21 with 5:41 left in the third.
From that point on, the Wildcats pretty much shut down Coffee County’s powerful running attack, but a couple more big mistakes would make it even more difficult to overcome the 14-point deficit. After stopping the Raiders on their next possession, the Wildcats got the ball on the Coffee County 46 and drove to the 13 with Bishop hooking up with Olive three straight times for gains of 14, 15 and 5 yards. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders intercepted a pass in the end zone preventing the Wildcats from cutting the deficit to seven.
With help from the Raiders’ second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the night, the Wildcat defense held and forced a punt from the 23, but the Wildcats roughed the punter and gave the Raiders the ball back via a 15-yard penalty. The defense again held, but Tullahoma fumbled the Coffee County punt, and the Raiders recovered at the 25. A 20-yard pass play sealed the win for the Raiders, who took a 42-21 lead with just 6:17 left in the game.
The Raiders intercepted a Wildcat pass on the next possession, but interference was called, and the Cats retained possession. The Raiders then intercepted again and ran the clock out from there.
With apologies to all who advocate proper usage of the English language, that short sentence does accurately portray what happened Friday night in the Tullahoma Wildcats’ 42-21 loss to Coffee County in the annual Coffee Pot game. The Wildcats turned the ball over six times in the game, and the Red Raiders took what they were given and, literally, ran with it.
 |
| Bobby Dowdell breaks away from a Coffee County pursuer during Friday night's Coffee Pot game. |
The contest before a packed house at Coffee County Stadium started out looking more like a track meet than a football game. The two teams scored 28 points in the first 7:39 and were tied 14-14. Even though they put two quick scores on the board, the Wildcats looked from the beginning like they were practicing for the greased pig skin contest at this week’s Coffee County fair.
After stopping Coffee County at the Wildcat 17 on the first possession of the game, Tullahoma fumbled it right back to the Raiders on the 10, and it took only two plays for Justin Kanjantamount to score, and the kick made it 7-0.
On Tullahoma’s next play from scrimmage, Bobby Dowdell broke a 60-yard run to the Raider 16, Ryan Bean ran 15 more, then Chris Bishop rammed it into the end zone from the one. Craig Roper’s kick made it 7-7.
The Raiders had a turnover of their own on the next possession, and the Wildcats took just one play to score when Dowdell broke tackles near the Raider sideline and flew 53 yards for a score, and Roper made it 14-7. Coffee County came right back with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the next drive and tied it 14-14.
The Wildcats put together a solid drive from their own 24 on the next possession with a 42-yard pass from Bishop to Ryan Bean the big blow. But, the Cats fumbled at the Raider 22, and Coffee County took over and put together the defining drive on the contest.
The Raiders started with 55.4 seconds left in the first quarter, and 16 plays later they had pounded the ball all the way down the field to take a 21-14 lead on Blake Tinsley’s four-yard run with 4:48 left in the half.
Tullahoma again fumbled on the ensuing kick off, and the Raiders were right back in business at the Wildcat 25. Again, they simply pounded the ball straight at the Wildcats, and eight plays later Kanjantamount scored from the two to give his team a 28-14 lead.
 |
Wildcat
fans react to a big play during Friday night's game. |
The Raiders scored quickly to take a 35-14 lead early in the third quarter, and Tullahoma found itself in near desperation mode. The Wildcats drove 57 yards for a score, converting two fourth downs along the way. The first conversion came on a pass from Bishop to Jared Olive for the initial first down of the drive, and the second came on fourth and goal from the seven when Bishop hit Cody Quick for a touchdown. The kick made it 35-21 with 5:41 left in the third.
From that point on, the Wildcats pretty much shut down Coffee County’s powerful running attack, but a couple more big mistakes would make it even more difficult to overcome the 14-point deficit. After stopping the Raiders on their next possession, the Wildcats got the ball on the Coffee County 46 and drove to the 13 with Bishop hooking up with Olive three straight times for gains of 14, 15 and 5 yards. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders intercepted a pass in the end zone preventing the Wildcats from cutting the deficit to seven.
With help from the Raiders’ second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the night, the Wildcat defense held and forced a punt from the 23, but the Wildcats roughed the punter and gave the Raiders the ball back via a 15-yard penalty. The defense again held, but Tullahoma fumbled the Coffee County punt, and the Raiders recovered at the 25. A 20-yard pass play sealed the win for the Raiders, who took a 42-21 lead with just 6:17 left in the game.
The Raiders intercepted a Wildcat pass on the next possession, but interference was called, and the Cats retained possession. The Raiders then intercepted again and ran the clock out from there.
