By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

WINCHESTER – There’s a coaching philosophy that posits that you don’t look at the scoreboard and you don’t worry about who’s on the other side of the ball. Raider Head Coach Kris White subscribes to that one-down-at-a-time theory and his players are starting to buy in. On Friday, they marched into Class 5A Franklin County – a team with over 80 players on their roster – and walked out with a 32-8 victory.

Moore County (2-2, 1-1) came into the game fresh off a one-point, stinging loss against Wayne County in Lynchburg. It was a sloppy, penalty-filled contest that saw four Raiders’ touchdowns called back. {To read our complete coverage of that game, click here.} Franklin County (0-4, 0-1) came into the game following four straight losses – the most recent a 48-10 thumping by rivals the Tullahoma Wildcats.

{Editor’s Note: This year’s Raider’s football coverage is free to all readers thanks to a sponsorship from Greg Guinn Construction, Jack Collectible’s, and Reese’s Athletics.}

Sloppy first quarter with four penalties 

The Rebels won the toss and in an aggressive move for an 0-4 team, elected to receive. They set up at the 33 first and 10 and managed four first downs. Around the eight minute mark, Raider defender Peyton Martin made a touchdown-saving tackle to force second and short, then shut down the Rebel runner again to make it third and five. The Rebel QB couldn’t connect on the next pass — setting up a field goal attempt on fourth and five. It missed, and the Raiders got the ball at the 19 around the seven minute mark. 

On the first down, Raider QB Gavin Wise called his own number for short yards. 

Friday night’s game probably felt like a bit of a homecoming for Wise, who attended the Franklin County school system in grade school before transferring to Moore County. Many Franklin County players made a point to come over and congratulate their former schoolmate after the game. 

But that didn’t prevent them from coming after him. On second and eight, a defensive lineman hit Wise hard in the backfield for a negative play. Then on third and nine, he connected with Logan Cashion on a long pass, but it came back on a holding call — the first of four first quarter penalties on Moore County. 

Undaunted, Wise called his own number on third and 19, and got the first down. After connecting with Cashion again, Wise called his own number one more time to convert on third and one. 

On the next play, Wise threw a dart to Isaac Petty for another first down near the red zone. He connected with Petty again on the next play but the Raiders earned another holding call. On first and 16, Wise threw to Tristyn Gray — who gained back the 10 then some to set up second and four. 

With Franklin County showing blitz, Wise threw an ill-advised lateral pass to Petty on the next play but the Rebels got an offsides call that made it third and one. Wise then lowered his head and earned the first down, but another holding call made it third and 11. The next pass fell incomplete, but refs penalized the Rebels for roughing the passer — handing Moore County a first down near the goal line. 

The first quarter ended with the Raider driving near their own red zone. 

Opportunistic Raiders build 23-0 lead

It didn’t take Moore County long to finish what they started in the first quarter. On the second play, Wise handed off to Petty, who muscled his way into the end zone. Jax Ross’s PAT gave the Raiders an early 7-0 lead with 11:16 to play in the half. 

The two teams would trade stalled drives for the next few series. Then on third and 25 at the Raider four-yard line, Tripp Hammond tackled the Rebel QB in the end zone for a safety to make it 9-0 with two minutes to play in the half. 

On the kick off, Raider Cole Taylor returned the ball to the 42 — setting up Moore County with excellent field position. He earned three more yards on first down, then Wise connected with Petty but refs called Moore County with a block in the back to make it second and 14. 

Wise then connected with Petty again on a twisting catch to convert. Wise threw three consecutive incompletions before connecting with Chris Merical for six. Ross’s PAT gave Moore County a 16-0 lead with 1:06 to play in the half. 

The Rebels converted a first down on the next play, then the Rebel QB connected again on the next down but, Cashion quickly tackled him for no gain. After two more plays for no gain, the Rebels set up to punt. Petty blocked the punt and a heads up Tristyn Gray scooped it up in the end zone for six. Ross’s third PAT of the night gave Moore County a 23-0 halftime lead. 

A frustrated Franklin County player got an unsportsmanlike conduct call as time expired. 

Raiders earn a running clock in the third quarter 

Since the unsportsmanlike got assessed on the kickoff, Moore County got the ball first in the second half with excellent field position. They couldn’t do much with it and punted on third and long at the 39. A heads up Brantley Hill downed the ball near the goal line to hand the Rebels first and 10 at their own one yard line. 

The Rebels earned four yards then handed them back on a fumble. On third and 10, the Raider line swarmed forward and Aydan Blair recovered the loose ball in the end zone for another safety to make it 25-0 with 7:50 to play in the third. 

On the kickoff, Martin caught the ball then surged forward to put a big lick on the Rebel defender — setting up first and 10 near the 37 yard line. Wise then threw two straight completions, one to Petty and one to Hill, to earn a first down at the 15. He then connected with Taylor for another Raider TD. Ross’s PAT gave Moore County a 32-0 lead and a running clock. 

The Rebels got ball back, then on first and 10 at the 36, Hill intercepted a pass to hand the Raiders the ball back. The third quarter ended with Moore County leading 32-0. 

The Rebels avoided the shut out with a receiving TD and two-point conversion with a little over three minutes to play. 

In the end, 1A Moore County earned a victory over 5A Franklin County for the second year in a row — notching a 32-8 road win. 

Following the win, Raider Head Coach Kris White congratulated his team and encouraged them to build on it.

“You put 32 points on a much larger team. We’ve got Cornersville next week in a region game. We can still win the region. All we’ve got do is take care of us,” he told them.

The Raiders spread the touchdown love around with Tristyn Gray, Chris Merical, Isaac Petty, and Cole Taylor all earning six. Tripp Hammond and Aydan Blair each earned a safety and Jax Ross was a perfect four of four on PATs. 

Raider QB Wise was 14 of 24 for 198 yards. Wise led in rushing with 59 yards. Merical added 28 and Petty added 23 more. Petty led the receiving corps with 70 yards followed by Taylor with 49. Petty put together another 100 yard plus game with 113 all purpose yards.

On defense, Landon Smith led with 10 tackles followed by Logan Cashion with seven. Peyton Martin, Buddy Qualls, and Tripp Hammond all earned a sack and Brantley Hill snagged an interception.

Despite next week being fall break at MCHS, the Raiders will take on Cornersville in Lynchburg on Friday at 7 p.m. The ranked Bulldogs currently sit in first place in the Region 5A rankings.

Local organizers plan a Benefit Chili Supper for the Taylor family prior to the game at the MCHS Cafeteria. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. and all proceeds will benefit the Taylor family. It’s hosted by the Moore County Volunteer Fire Department. Click here to learn more. •

{Local news from local folks. The Lynchburg Times is the only newspaper in Moore County that is owned, published, edited, and reported by a Lynchburg native. We offer common-sense, fact-driven stories written by a local with over 20 years of journalism experience.  We are supported by both readers and organizations who value community journalism. Click here to subscribe.}