LYNCHBURG, Tenn. –– There’s nothing like shutting out a district rival for homecoming and that’s exactly what the Moore County Raiders did on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd.
Despite the distractions of the week, the Raiders combined a relentless offensive effort and a couple of bend-but-don’t-break defensive stands to deliver a knock out blow to the visiting Eagles.
Moore County takes an early lead
The Raiders got on the board first with a four minute drive on their first possession. They left with six points despite the dumpster fire of a series. A Dawson White long run got called back for a false start and a Logan Hegwood touchdown run also got walked back due to a false start.
Then, on fourth and one, Dawson White powered forward for a Raider first down. One play later Logan Hegwood muscled forward after the catch to give the Raiders another first and 10. White then threw to Isaiah Petty on the next down for six points. The point after attempt bounced off the goal post to make it Raiders 6, Eagles 0.
The Eagles first possession ate up the rest of the first quarter clock but resulted in no points. The quarter ended with Moore County leading by six.
In the second, the Eagles drove to third and goal but the Raider D swatted down two pass attempts and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs with 10:50 to play in the half.
The Raiders then pieced together another long sustained drive for six points. Dawson White, Wes Clifton, and Logan Hegwood all managed first downs to get the Raiders first and goal with 3:39 to play in the half. Then, White pushed within inches before Hegwood took a hand off inside for the second Raider touchdown of the night. Hegwood also ran in the two point conversion to make it Raiders 14, Eagles 0 at the half.
Raiders seal the win in the third quarter
Moore County’s defense came out swinging in the third quarter. Logan Hegwood forced negative yardage on first and 10 and then the Raiders held the Eagle to short yardage on the next two plays. Junior Raider Eli Brown sacked the Eagle quarterback on third and nine to end the first drive of the third quarter.
It took Moore County exactly three plays to score on their next possession. On first and 10, the Eagles stopped Logan Hegwood without gaining an inch then QB White called his own number on the option for eight yards. On third and two, Dawson scrambled, cut left and then spotted a hole in the Eagle defense to the right. He cut across field — evading defenders the whole way — for six more Raider points. Blake Bradford’s PAT made it Moore County 21 and Eagleville 0 with 6:46 to play.
The two teams traded possessions for the remainder of the game without points. At the final buzzer, Moore County walked away with a 21-0 homecoming victory and a 3-0 record.
Following the game, Head Coach Kris White told his players that he felt proud of how his team handled the distractions of homecoming week.
“You guys were out here earlier for over an hour taking pictures. It would have been easy to get distracted but you handled your business,” Coach White told his players.
Moore County hits the road next Friday night as they travel to Forrest to play the Rockets, the number two ranked team in 2A. It’s a opportunity that Coach White challenged his players to take advantage of this season.
“You guys have an opportunity to go knock somebody of the mountain,” he said. “That’s our goal — one we set at the beginning of the season. We’re growing up. We’re not there yet but we’re on track.” •
(Editor’s Note: We’ll add stats to this article as soon as they are available.)