By Duane Sherril | Special to The Times
MOORE COUNTY — Penalties hamstrung Moore County in their home opener Friday night with referees calling back two Raider touchdowns as they fell 17-10 to the Cascade Champions in what was a game of long drives.
However, most concerning was a late injury to senior quarterback Gavin Wise who went down with an apparent lower leg injury as his squad was mounting what could have been a game-tying or winning drive with five minutes to go in the contest.
Penalties came early and often against Moore County as what appeared to be a first quarter touchdown by Tristyn Gray was called back following a long opening drive by the Raiders. Moore County was unable to capitalize on their excellent field position and they turned the ball over on downs at the Champion 23. Cascade was the able to reach pay dirt at the end of a long drive of their own, scoring on a 30-yard pass play to take a 7-0 lead. It appeared Moore County had matched the Cascade TD when Isaac Petty brought back the kickoff but his score was called back by a penalty, marking the second touchdown that was taken off the board against the Raiders.
{Editor’s Note: This article is brought to thanks to an editorial partnership between The Lynchburg Times and The Moore County News. To read more of their articles, click here.}
That lead stood until the second quarter as Moore and Cascade traded long drives, each of which ended without scores. However, Cascade was able to get three out of its last drive of the second quarter, making it 10-0. Moore County got the ball back with a short time left in the second and looked to be doomed to going into the locker room down by 10. But, on the last play of the quarter, Wise hit Luke Stephens on a Hail Mary, with Stephens dancing into the end zone with no time left on a the first half clock. The score made it 10-7 at half.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first as both teams maintained long, time-consuming drives. Cascade was able to culminate on of its third quarter drives with a touchdown, making 17-10 but Moore answered with a field goal to make it 17-10 going into the fourth.
It appeared Cascade might put the game out of reach as they mounted a fourth quarter drive deep into Moore territory but the Raiders rejected the Champions on a fourth-and-one situation in the red zone at the 18.
Getting the ball at their own 18 with nine minutes to go, Moore did what both teams had done all night, mount a long drive as they found themselves at the Cascade 40 with five minutes to go. However, that is when Wise went out with an injury. Isaac Petty came in to relive the injured signal caller but was unable to move the ball any further, forcing a punt.
Cascade was able to play keep away the rest of the game, mounting a long drive to kill the rest of the clock.
Unofficial stats had Petty with 91 yards rushing while Wise had 133 yards passing. The Raiders next game is against Goodpasture Christian next Friday in Lynchburg. The loss sets the Raider record at 1-1 after their crushing of Community last week. •
About The Lynchburg Times
The Lynchburg Times is an independent, woman-owned newspaper rooted in the heart of southern middle Tennessee. Led by a Tulane-educated journalist with over two decades of experience covering this region, we shine a light on the people, politics, and cultural pulse of a changing South. From breaking news to slow storytelling, we believe local journalism should inform, empower, and preserve what makes this place unique. Supported by readers and community partners, we’re proud to be part of the new Southern narrative – one story at a time. [Support us here.]