SPORTS — On a warm October night with a pink MC glowing center field, the Moore County Raiders showed up and showed out with a 35-7 win over those other Raiders from Richland.
It was an impressive Moore County performance on both sides of the ball. The Raider offense flexed it’s depth with five different players finding the end zone. Two offensive tackles eighth grader Aydan Blair and freshman Landon Jolley paved their way creating huge holes.
On defense, the Raiders forced over 15 Richland plays for either a loss or no gain. Senior cornerback Joshua Parks also snagged a key interception and Hayden Carter added one more.
You get a touchdown and you get a touchdown
In the first half, four different Columbia blue jerseys made their way into the end zone. Senior Moore County quarterback Kyler Parker got the scoring started a little over a minute into the game when he called his own number and outran defenders for six points. Senior kicker Chase Bradford’s PAT sailed good and Moore took a quick, 7-0 lead.
After the play, Moore County fans could hear a Richland coach yell towards his players, “You’ve got to stay behind that guy.”
On their first series, Richland found some running room up the middle to get second and four. Then senior linebacker Donavin Pearson stopped the play for no gain. Moore County hurried the Richland QB on the next play and the Raiders in orange were forced to punt.
On the next Moore County drive, it was senior running back Tyler Smith’s chance to get on the boards. After positive yardage plays by freshman running back Dawson White, QB Parker, and senior wide receiver Brayden Cashion, Smith shook off Richland tackles to score six Moore County points. Bradford’s PAT made the score 14-0.
On the next series, the Raider defense forced three straight plays for no gain before a long pass play bailed the Richland offense out on a third and 10. After another three consecutive no gain plays, Richland got another first down through the air. Then, on first and 10, Pearson slung down the runner for a loss. The next Richland pass fell incomplete and then on third and 10, Hayden Carter intercepted the ball to give the Raiders the ball back with three first quarter seconds remaining.
The two Raider teams then traded possessions. On the next Moore County offensive possession, QB Parker broke free and got shoestring tackled near the goal line. On second and goal, he got the ball to Cashion who ran in for six points. Bradford’s PAT gave Moore County a 21-0 lead with 6:26 to play in the first half.
Richland’s next drive went three and out. With four minutes to play in the first half, Smith broke free for a 30 yard run to set up QB Parker to then run the ball to the goal line. With 35 seconds remaining on a third and two, Dawson White found the end zone. Bradford’s PAT gave Moore County a 28-0 lead over Richland at halftime.
Richland narrowly avoids the shut out
After the break, the defense continued to impress and Moore County forced four consecutive no gain plays to force the Richland punt. Then, on first and 10, Kaden White caught a Parker pass, made a man miss, and ran untouched into the end zone. Bradford’s PAT gave Moore County a 35-0 lead.
The two Raider teams then exchanged possessions. On the next Richland drive, they managed second and nine inside the red zone before Joshua Parks intercepted a pass at the goal line to give Moore County back the ball. At the 99 yard line, Moore County pieced together positive yardage before fumbling the ball with 7:30 to play in the game.
As the clock ran down, Moore County fans got a glimpse of the future of Raider football as Coach White substitute heavily getting younger players key reps. Wes Clifton ran the ball for four yards. Clifton, Noah Whitaker, Blake Bradford, Dusty Thomas, Will Harder, Will Parker, Logan Hegwood, Zac Carawan, Joseph Trice, Cody Trussell, and Tanner Parks all got in the defensive mix.
Richland narrowly avoided the shut out with 12 seconds remaining on a completed 32 yard pass along the far right side. Moore County beat Richland 35-7 at home. The win clinches second place in Region 5A and will likely earn them a home first round play off game.
After the game, Raider Head Coach Kris White told the Moore County Sports Network that he attributed a lot of the win to excellent play by the offensive line.
“Those guys are making holes for these running backs to get to the second level without getting touched and that’s huge for us,” he said.
Moore County stats versus Richalnd
Moore County spread the scoring around with Kyler Parker, Dawson White, Brayden Cashion, Kaden White, and Tyler Smith all earning six points. Chase Bradford was a perfect five of five on point after attempts.
QB Parker connected on 10 of 14 passes for 109 passing yards. He also scrambled for 11 carries on the ground for another 132 yards. He led in rushing yards followed by Tyler Smith with 111.
Kaden White led in receiving with four receptions for 68 yards.
On defense, Donavin Pearson led with nine tackles including five solo tackles. Kaden White and Tyler Smith followed with eight tackles each and Dawson White added six more. Both Joshua Parks and Hayden Carter snagged key interceptions.
Moore County will play their final regular season home game this Friday against Mount Pleasant. It will be First Responder’s Night. Kick off will be at 7 p.m.
If you can’t attend the game, it will be broadcast live on Raider Country 105.1 and 95.5 FM with Joe Abraham and the Moore County Sports Network, on the NFHS Network, or The Lynchburg Times will post live score updates on our Facebook page. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}