Defense was certainly the star of the show for the Coffee County Central Red Raiders Friday night in Lewisburg.
In their second preseason outing, the Raider varsity defense didn’t allow a touchdown all afternoon. The Marshall County Tigers only score came on a 45-yard field goal on their first drive.
Otherwise, Marshall County was limited on big plays and scoring opportunities. The Raider defense appeared to tidy up some perimeter tackling issues that showed in their first scrimmage against La Vergne. Meanwhile, the defense also forced a turnover early on when junior linebacker Jayden Carter elevated and snagged a pass over the middle with one hand for an interception.
The Raider offense struggled to find much rhythm, however. Coffee County’s first drive was its best of game – the Raiders matriculated the ball down the field and reached the Tiger 13-yard line. But the Raiders simply ran out of plays on second down in the 10-play scrimmage format. Otherwise, the Raider varsity offense did not get back inside the red zone.
Biggest plays of the day were a 26-yard run by Caiden Martin and a 25 yard pitch and catch from quarterback Cole Pippenger that dropped into Martin’s hands on the sidelines to convert a first down.
other highlights
While the varsity offense didn’t score, backup quarterback John Massengill connected with Kane Dixon on a post route that went about 60 yards for a score.
UP NEXT
The Raiders will host Cookeville in their final preseason tune-up – that will be Wednesday, Aug. 9 at Carden-Jarrell Field. Start time TBD.
SEASON SCHEDULE
The Raiders open the regular season with a non-region tilt against Franklin County Aug. 18 in Winchester.
All games this season begin at 7 p.m. and can be heard live on Thunder Radio WMSR 107.9 FM, AM 1320 – pregame Friday Night Thunder starts at 6 p.m. every Friday.
Aug. 18 – AT Franklin County
Aug. 25 – vs. Tullahoma
Sept. 1 – AT Shelbyville
Sept. 8 – AT Siegel
Sept. 15 – vs. Page
Sept. 22 – vs. Riverdale (Homecoming)
Sept. 29 – vs. Rockvale
Oct. 6 – OPEN
Oct. 13 – AT Oakland
Oct. 20 – vs. Ooltewah (Senior night)
Oct. 27 – AT Blackman
