LOCAL NEWS | Sports — Moore County lost their final game of the 2019 season on Friday with a 47-28 loss at Mount Pleasant. It was an ugly affair … one that was hard for Raider Nation to watch or listen to.
Mount Pleasant has long prided themselves on playing smash-mouth football but game film reveals not one but two body slams, a Tiger player blindsiding a defenseless Raider player, and Moore County QB Kyler Parker taking a flagrant knee to the face as he attempted to get up from a tackle … most were no calls.
Despite the rough a tumble play, Moore County battled but came up short. The loss puts them out of playoff contention with Fayetteville City, Cornersville. Huntland, an Mount Pleasant making it into the playoffs.
Raiders hang tough in first half
The Tigers won the toss and elected to kick off to the Raiders. The Raiders went a quick three and out before the Tigers scored nearly as quickly on a three play drive ending with QB Hayden Lovely finding Keshawn Hudson on a pass for their first six points. The PAT gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Undaunted, the Raiders answered as Kyler Parker, Joshua Parks, and Brayden Cashion put Moore County near the red zone. On a second and ten, QB Parker called his own number and ran 21 yards into the end zone. Chase Bradford’s PAT was good to tie the score at 7-7.
The Tigers and Raiders then traded possessions before the Tigers put together three first down plays to find themselves first and goal at the eight yard line. Hudson scrambled into the end zone on the next play to give the Tigers back the lead, 14-7.
On the second possession of the second quarter, QB Parker did the heavy lifting to get the Raiders first and goal at the six yard line. Tyler Smith battled his way into the end zone and Moore County’s “money” kicker Bradford nailed the PAT to tie the score, 14-14.
Mount Pleasant answered on the next set of downs but missed the PAT. With 4:00 remaining in the first half, they led 20-14.
The Raiders punted on their next possession. With time quickly expiring, the Tigers scored on a second down and long but not before their star running back, Keshawn Hudson got ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Raiders got the ball back with a chance to score. Tyler Smith got them in excellent field position with his return to the 48. On the first play, QB Parker got body slam tackled by Mount Pleasant as the Coach Dobbs protested enthusiastically.
The Raiders went into the locker room trailing 26-14 and it was mostly downhill from there. As the refs looked on, the game degenerated into what one observer called, “a sanctioned street fight.”
Chippy second half
The Tigers scored again at the 6:35 mark in the third to pull them ahead 33-14. In the fourth quarter, they scored on their first possession to extend it to 47-14. Then Moore County answered when Tyler Smith got two consecutive first down to set up Kyler Parker for the score. With 9:11 remaining the Tigers continued to lead, 41-21.
The Tigers scored on their next possession to pull ahead 47-21.
With around four minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders tackled the Tiger QB in the back field and he fumbled. Raiders Bryson Dobbs scooped it up and ran for the score and then the refs did the darnest thing … they called the live play dead. Dobbs stood defiantly in the end zone refusing to budge as Coach Dobbs fumed from the sidelines.
The Raider D shut down Mount Pleasant on their next possession. Kyler Parker and Tyler Smith then combined for yardage to get the Raiders one last score. With 2:35 remaining the score was Tigers 47, Raiders 28.
The Raiders ended their season with a 4-6 overal record and 1-4 district record. •
{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering 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.}