The 2024 high school football season began Friday night for the Coffee County Red Raiders, who hosted the Franklin County Rebels.
The Raiders put on a dominating performance. With a 42-0 lead at halftime, they added one more score in the second half for a 49-0 win. The most points scored by Coffee County since 2021 at Spring Hill.
Coffee County’s defense had multiple sacks and tackles for loss, holding the Rebels to only 68 yards of offense.
Deontae Short scored on a 32-yard run to start things for the Raiders in the 1st quarter.
After the defense stifled Franklin County, Caiden Martin scored next to make it 14-0. Martin finished the night with 111 yards on just 9 carries.
On the next drive, the Rebels were forced to punt again. The Red Raiders blocked the punt, and Jayden Carter scooped and scored from 25 yards out to give Coffee County a 21-0 lead.
After another stop, Franklin County had to punt again. This time, the Raiders got a lot of pressure and forced the punter to fumble. Coffee County recovered the ball at the one-yard line to end the quarter. On the second play, Kane Dixon took the ball into the endzone for a 28-0 win.
On Franklin County's next possession, they were forced to punt, but the Red Raiders were called for roughing the kicker. They later punted again, and Coffee County went to work on offense. Sophomore quarterback Kaysen Lowery hit Caiden Warren with a 20-yard pass for another touchdown and a 35-0 lead. Lowery was good on 75 percent of his passes for 86 yards.
A short time later, the Raiders were back on offense thanks again to strong defensive play. Lowery rushed 25 yards up the middle for Coffee County's sixth TD of the half, giving them a 42-0 lead at the break.
With a running clock, the mercy rule enforced, and primarily backups in the game, the Red Raiders managed one more score. Backup quarterback Jon Massengill scored on a run to make it 49-0.
Coffee County only scored 12 touchdowns in the 2023 season, but on Friday night, they scored 7. The changes in the offense certainly excited the fans, and the defense was spot-on all night. They held Franklin County to only 40 yards.
Tyler Martin led the Raiders with 7 tackles, and Tyler Smith added 6.
The Raiders' kicking game was also a major plus, as they recovered 2 fumbles and Jayden Silva was 7-for-7 on extra points, the most since 2018 by a Coffee County kicker. He was named the Giles Dunn Diamond Company Player of the Game.
Next up for Coffee County will be the 99th Coffee Pot game. This year’s contest is at Wilkins Stadium on Friday at 7 PM. The pregame show starts at 6:30 PM on The Rooster 101.5.
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