LOCAL NEWS | Sports — After a week off, the Moore County Raiders (2-4, 0-2) with take on Jo Byrns (1-6, 1-2) in Cedar Hill on Friday night.
The Red Devils have experienced a frustrating season so far with losses to Harpeth, Huntland, Clay County, Houston County, East Robertson and Monterey. Their lone win of the season came on Sept. 20 against Red Boiling Springs. However, their motivation will be high as they are still in the Region 4-1A playoff hunt. The top four teams make the playoffs.
Raider Head Coach Jason Dobbs says Jo Byrns is “traditionally a good football team … very multiple on offense and 4-4 on defense.” He says the Raider keys to victory will be to take care of the football and tackle.
After two impressive early season wins against Cascade and Community, the Raiders have struggled of late … though the games have been closer that some scores might imply. For the most part, the Raiders have held their own until late in the fourth quarter. Part of the the fourth quarter fade may have something to so with the fact that many varsity Raider starters play on both sides of the ball.
“With the weather being unseasonably hot it hurts our team because players never get to rest or catch their breath,” says Coach Dobbs.
With Jo Bryns’ smaller defensive line, expect Raider QB Brayden Cashion to have some success both through the air and handing off to his favorite Raider running backs. Tyler Smith (564 yards), in particular, has been putting up some huge rushing yardage with three 100 plus yard games under his belt. Kyler Parker (302 yards) and Dylan Scruggs (193 yards) have also acted as Raider work horses.
On the defensive side, Tyler Smith also stands out with 44 tackles so far this season. Donavin Pearson (33), Bryson Dobbs (27), Zac Carawan (20) and Hayden Carter (18) and Tyler Sanders (18) also lead the Raider D in tackles. Dobbs and Pearson lead in sacks. Also of note is the rock solid kicking game coming from Chase Bradford this year. Of 17 point after attempts, he’s sailed 16 through the uprights.
Coach Dobbs says the Raiders took the bye week to get rested and healed.
“The bye week is good for everyone to take a break and get ready for the push for the play offs,” he said. “We focused on healing up and resting as well as us getting better.”
After this game, the Raiders play three straight conference games (Huntland, Richland, and Mt. Pleasant) and must win two of them to make the playoffs.
Jo Byrns High School is located at 7025 Highway 41N in Cedar Hill. Kick off is at 7 p.m. If you can’t make it to the away game, there are a couple of ways to follow the action. Every Friday night, Whiskey Country radio transforms into Raider Country with play-by-play action from Joe Abraham and Al Clark as well as sideline reporting from Kelli Ray. Tune in locally on 95.9 or 105.1 FM. You can also watch a live broadcast on the NFHS Network. And, of course, The Lynchburg Times will post score updated on social media throughout the game.•
{Editors Note: All stats according to Max Preps.}