CORNERSVILLE, Tenn. — The 5-0 Moore County Raider team will travel to Region 5A rival Cornersville on Friday for a district showdown. Last year, the Raiders put a 53-0 beat down on the Bulldogs, so they’ll likely be gunning for a little pay back.

In that Senior Night game last October, the Raiders put together a “unicorn game” — scoring on four straight first down plays in the first six minutes of the game. That’s right. The Raiders managed 26 points in a little over seven minutes without ever playing a second down. {To read our full coverage of that game, follow this link.}

Moore County still beat up after Franklin County game

Moore County comes into the game fresh off a grueling home win over 5A Franklin County last Friday night. The gritty Moore County boys put up 424 total yards against the Rebels and utilized five different offensive weapons to earn the 41-24 win. Raider QB Dawson White led with two rushing touchdowns, Keller Morey, Eli Brown, Matthew White, and Logan Hegwood all added a touchdown each. The Raider defense held the Rebels to just 333 yards and forced their star running back, Eric Jones, to less than his usual three digits of total offense.

The Moore County defense led by Peyton Martin (10 tackles) and Landon Smith (7 tackles) needed to bail out their offense twice when Moore County coughed up the ball in the red zone. {To read our full coverage of that game, follow this link.}

Cornersville will come into the district game against the Raiders following a decisive 62-28 win against Richland in Lynnville. In the Battle of Buford Station, as that game’s been called in the Giles County areas, the Richland Raiders committed five turnovers for 27 points.

5 keys to beating Cornersville

We’ve watched that game film, and here are five things we think the Raiders must do to keep their perfect season going against Cornersville on Friday.

1| Stay focused. The Cornersville game sits on the Raider schedule in a classic trap game position. They mustn’t overlook the (3-2) Bulldogs on their way to the battle of the Region 5A unbeatens against Collinwood the following week.

2| Take care of the football. Richland coughed up the ball five time against Cornersville last Friday. That tells us that the hungry Bulldog defense will come into the Moore County game looking to strip the ball and pluck it out of the secondary. The Raider offense must play smart, no-mistakes football or Cornersville’s gonna make them pay for it.

3| Key in on Bulldog running back Ben Franklin. According to Max Preps, #3 on the Cornersville offense is putting up an average of 170 yards per game. He also leads all scorers with five touchdowns on the season and is the Bulldogs leading tackler. The senior stands six foot, three inches and weighs in at 240 pounds. He’s a strong, solid player who runs downhill. The Moore County defensive line will need to play pressure on Friday, to keep him on his toes.

4| Keep an eye on Hunter Uland. Uland puts up over 40 receiving yards per game and he’s only a sophomore. At five foot, 10 inches and 165 pounds, #3 is quick and can often see the plays developing above his defenders. He’s snatches uncatchable balls and enjoys explosive speed. Moore County’s secondary can not lose sight of him.

5 | Don’t believe the hype. As of Monday, Moore County continues to sit in the number four spot in the weekly Associated Press high school football poll and they’ll head into Cornersville with a bit of a swagger after downing a 5A team. But any team can beat any other team any given Friday night. If the Raiders want to make a run and post season play, they’ll need every district win they can get. Looking past the Bulldogs would be a mistake.

The Moore County versus Cornersville game will take place in Marshall County. Kickoff happens at 7 p.m. If you can’t travel with the team, the Moore County Sports Network will broadcast the game live on the NFHS Network. The Times will also post live score updates on our Facebook page. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a nonpartisan community newspaper serving Lynchburg, Tennessee and the surrounding counties. We also provide news and information for the 350,000 folks who come to Lynchburg to visit The Jack Daniel’s Distillery each year. We are dedicated to public service journalism for the greater good of our community. You can support us, by clicking here.}