MOORE COUNTY — Moore County Raider Assistant Coach Jonah Deal says the first time he ever coached this year’s senior players, he knew immediately that they were special.

“Four years ago my friend, Heath Fanning, allowed me to assist him in coaching this group of small eighth graders and I realized very quickly that these guys played a lot tougher than their size,” Deal says. “This group is what any coach dreams of to build a program around: hard workers on the court and the classroom, gritty, and most of all, genuine good people.”

That fact stood out on Monday night as Brayden Cashion, Dylan Scruggs, Riley Holman, and Andrew Copeland played their final game as a Raider in front of a loud home crowd at MCHS. The Raiders lost the game to Pickett County by a final score of 61-40 but they went down swinging and giving 100 percent until the final buzzer.

It was a tough, physical game against the number three scorer in the state – a six foot two guard named Zach Amonett. He and fellow Bobcat, Hunter Wattenbarger, combined for 48 of Pickett County’s 61 points.

Moore County held their own in the first period. They got the first possession and converted it to points when Andrew Copeland swished a trey. The Bobcats immediately answered to make it 3-2 with five minutes to play in the first period. The Raiders battled back with a basket by Dylan Scruggs who was fouled on his way up. His “and one” gave the Raiders a 6-3 lead. The Raider defense dug in in the first period and held Amonett to just three points. At the final first period buzzer, the score was tied 10-10.

In the second period, the Bobcats started to pull away by going on a 12 point run including 10 points in a little over a minute to gain a 22-10 lead. At the 5:21 mark, Moore County scored their next basket to make it 22-12. Pickett County held the Raiders to 10 second period points while putting up 20. The Raiders went into the locker room down by 10 at the half.

It was as close as they would get as Amonett and Wattenbarger proved too much. The duo put up 15 against Moore County in the third period while the Bobcats held the Raiders to just six points. Moore County’s seniors rallied in the final stanza – scoring 14 points to the Bobcats 16 – but it was too little to late.

Brayden Cashion and Will Harder led for the Raiders with 10 points each followed by Dylan Scruggs with nine points. Other Raiders getting on the board were Riley Holman (6), Keller Morey (3), and Andrew Copeland (2). Zach Amonett led for the Bobcats with 25.

The Moore County Raiders ended their season as one of the 16 best teams playing Class A ball in the state with a 14-11 overall record and 7-3 district record. They also brought home the Region 4A trophy. •

{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.}