By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG — Bad blood between the Moore County Raiders and the Huntland Hornets is nothing new. It’s a district rivalry that dates back to the 1940’s when Lynchburg native Shirely Majors coached the Hornets.

The father of UT Volunteer coach Johnny Majors left Moore County High School in 1947 to restart the football program in Huntland. At the time, they hadn’t fielded a team in 20 years. He commuted each day from Moore County to Franklin County so that his children could continue to attend Moore County Schools. But that all came to an end one chilly fall night when Johnny and the MCHS Raiders beat the Hornets 18-13 in the last regular season game.

“That’s the last dad-blamed time a son of mine plays against me,” he said, according to the State Archives.

And thus, an intense rivalry was born. {To read our historical piece on that rivalry, click here.} It’s one that boiled over on Friday. During the final handshake, a push led to a shove and a shove led to both benches emptying onto the floor with coaches, parents, and law enforcement trying to separate the two.

Raiders trail by four in the first

Moore County got the tip but couldn’t do anything with it. On the Hornets first possession, Peyton Martin fouled Huntland’s Grant Jernigan – sending him to the line for two. He swished both to give the Hornets a quick 2-0 lead. Following a walk, Brantley Hill put Moore County on the board with a trey to make it 3-2.

Moore County then sent Callen Van Buskirk to the line. He made both to give Huntland back the lead, 4-3. The Raiders turned over the ball, then Martin got the steal on the next Hornet possession and fed the ball to Gavin Wise who laid it up for two to give Moore County back the lead, 5-4.

Huntland’s Bryant Mooney answered with a trey to claw back the lead, 7-5. Moore County turned over the ball, then sent Jernigan back to the line. He made one of two to build the Hornet lead to three, 8-5.

Tristyn Gray scored Moore County’s final points of the first from the line, followed by another set of free throws from Jernigan. The Raiders ended the first half trailing by four, 10-6.

Moore County pulls away in the fourth quarter

Huntland got the ball first in the second half, but a charge call reversed points by Kannon LaFevers. Moore County got a turnover then Deacon Liles snagged a rebound that led to a Colton Morey jumper to make it 10-8. Two possessions later, a Hornet skip-passed the ball directly to Liles. The Raiders set up a play and Liles got the offensive rebound. He put it back up for two to tie the game, 10-10, then made the exact same play at the 3:32 mark to give Moore County the lead – prompting a quick Huntland time out.

Out of the break, the two teams traded turnovers, before Huntland’s Jernigan stole the ball and put it up for two to tie the game, 12-12. Morey answered with a jumper to regain the lead with under two minutes to play. The Hornet’s Noah McLennon snagged an offensive rebound and put it back up to regain the lead, but Tucker Smith swished a trey with four second to play to give the Raiders a three-point halftime lead, 17-14.

The Raiders and the Hornets paced each other in the third period, ending with the same three-point Moore County advantage, 28-25. Moore County pulled away in the fourth period thanks to points by Hill, Morey, Wise, Martin, and Sparkman. At the final buzzer, Moore County earned a 48-39 district win.

Peyton Martin led for Moore County with 17 points followed by Gavin Wise with eight, and Brantley Hill and Deacon Liles with seven points each. Colton Morey and Jay Sparkman added five apiece. Tucker Smith swished a trey. Tristyn Gray added one from the line.

Moore County will travel on Tuesday to Van Buren County for a non-district game. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We’re the only newspaper that publishes editions twice a week every Sunday and Wednesday as well as breaking news as it happens. It’s also one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. We’re supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }