By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — They came onto Doug Price Field looking for a little revenge and they left with a goose egg. On Friday, the Moore County Raiders shutout Region 5A rivals the Eagleville Eagles 35-0 to advance to the third round of the TSSAA Class 1A playoffs — and it was never close.
Eagles came in looking for revenge
The Eagles came into Friday’s match up itching for a little revenge. On the Coach T message boards earlier in the week, one fan posted that the Eagles “handled their business” against West Carroll just for another shot at Moore County.
Moore County played Eagleville as their district opener on September 1 and won 45-20. It was a punch, counter-punch affair in the first half with Eagleville pulling within six in the second quarter. The second half got a little chippy as the Moore County defense refused to move an inch – shutting down the Eagle offense. {To read our complete coverage of that game, click here.}
Friday night’s game in Lynchburg felt like much of the same.
The Raider defense shut out their opponent for the second straight playoff game and for the third time this season. On average, they allow just over seven points per game.
Raiders put up 20 first quarter points
The Moore County offense didn’t give the Eagles any time to linger in upset dreams. They won the toss and elected to receive
Keller Morey returned to the 48 then the Raiders Mr. Football semifinalist Dawson White got to work. He handed off to Logan Hegwood for a quick six yards then called his own number for the first down.
After an incomplete pass and a holding penalty, White looked bottled up but a heads up Will Parker came back to the pass for a first down.
On the next play, the Eagles line brought pressure. With no where to go, White lowered his head and pushed forward for two yards, then Hegwood ran for the first down on the next play.
A Raider false start penalty made it first and 15 then passes to Hegwood and Brantley Hill set up first and goal. Hegwood then fought forward for the Raiders first six points. Jax Ross’s PAT gave Moore County a 7-0 lead with 5:50 to play in the first.
Despite their pre-kickoff adrenaline, the Eagles couldn’t get much going on their first possession and punted thanks to stops by Alex Copeland and Coleman Phillips.
The regular season match up between these two teams got chippy and the post season match up was more of the same. On the next Raiders possession both the Raiders coaching staff and Moore County fans took exception to what they thought were no call face masks and extracurriculars in the pile.
Back on offense, White handed off to Hegwood on back-to-back plays for a first down then passed to Copeland for another fresh set. The Eagles stymied the Raiders on the next play, then White called his own number for seven yards. On third and three and with his receivers covered, White muscled forward for first and goal.
On next play, Copeland ran his route, spotted his QB in trouble, came back for the pass, then bolted into the end zone for six points. Ross’s PAT split the uprights. With 37 seconds remaining in the first, Moore County led 14-0.
But the Raiders weren’t done. On the kickoff return, the Eagle return man bobbled the punt and Eli Brown moved in to recover it — giving Moore County back the ball. On first down, White dropped back and threw a dime to Copeland who ran untouched into the end zone. The PAT missed. With 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Moore County built their lead to 20-0.
Raiders shutout Eagles down the stretch
On their next possession, lights out defense by Logan Cashion, James Laster, Brown, and Peyton Martin handed Eagleville second and eight. Martin then sacked the Eagleville QB for force the punt.
It took the Raiders exactly one play to add six more points. On first down, White connected with Morey for the score. Parker’s successful two-point conversion made it 28-0 with 10:49 to play in the half.
This is when the Raider defense smelled blood in the water. On the next Eagle possession, Wes Clifton got the stop on the kick off return and then again on the first down for no gain. A Eagle penalty put them in a first and 20 hole. They attempted a handoff on the next down, only to be pushed pack by White and Phillips. After a time out, Martin and Dillon Sherrill sacked the QB on third and 15 and Eagleville punted handing Moore County back the ball with 7:49 to play in the half.
After a return to around the 30, Clifton ran on first down and picked up four. Hegwood then ran for the first down. Moore County then managed two first downs before suffering a fumble to hand the Eagles back the ball at the 6:03 mark.
On first down, Eagleville returned the favor and Landon Smith recovered to give the Raiders back the ball. Parker and Hegwood put in work to hand White first and goal and he punched it in for six. Ross’s PAT made it 35-0.
Moore County came out of the break with a running clock. Coach Kris White brought in back up QB Gavin Wise and he went to work. He did an excellent job of both protecting the football and clock management.
Though there was no scoring from either team in the second half, highlights included a pass interception from Copeland and a fumble recovery from Cashion with just 3:24 to play to seal the win.
Copeland led with two touchdowns
Senior Alex Copeland led for the second game in a row with two touchdowns. Logan Hegwood, Keller Morey, and Dawson White each added a touchdown each. Freshman kicker Jax Ross was three of four in PAT attempts and Will Parker managed a two point conversion.
Moore County will keep the post season moving with another home game against McKenzie who beat Collinwood 43-0 on Friday in McKenzie. Kickoff will take place at 7 p.m. on Doug Price Field. If you can’t attend, 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, independent community newspaper serving Lynchburg, Tennessee gand the surrounding counties. We are dedicated to public service journalism for the greater good of our community. Click here to subscribe.}