By Owen Whitsett
Coffee County Central started strong Friday night, but Independence took control after the opening minutes and handed the Red Raiders a 56-14 region loss at Carden-Jarrell Field.
The Red Raider defense opened the night by forcing Independence into a three-and-out. Jett Trussler made a tackle at the line of scrimmage on second down before an incompletion forced the Eagles to punt.
Coffee County took over at its own 49-yard line and quickly turned the stop into points. Kaysen Lowery connected with Kam Stafford on a screen to move the chains before finding Joe Jordan down the field for a 34-yard touchdown.
The PAT put Coffee County in front 7-0.
Independence answered on its next possession. Quarterback Matthew Horner found Brody Bullock for a 36-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7, beginning a stretch of 28 unanswered points by the Eagles.
Independence added three more touchdowns before the break to take a 28-7 advantage into halftime.
The Eagles extended the lead to 35-7 early in the third quarter, but Coffee County answered with its best drive of the second half. Lowery broke loose from 30 yards out for his second touchdown of the night, this one on the ground.
The PAT cut the Independence lead to 35-14.
That would be Coffee County’s final score of the night. Independence added another touchdown to make it 42-14 before an interception return gave the Eagles a short field for another score in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Kamden Dell later connected with Ethan Willis for a 50-yard touchdown to finish the scoring at 56-14.
Coffee County finished with 239 yards of offense. Lowery completed 6-of-12 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Tez Garrett led the ground game with 72 yards on 17 carries.
Stafford caught three passes for 46 yards, while Jordan’s lone reception went for the 34-yard touchdown. Matthew White added a 14-yard reception and Luke Christian caught one pass for 12 yards.
Independence piled up 413 yards of offense. Horner completed 15-of-24 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Bullock was his leading target, hauling in seven passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a rushing score.
The loss drops Coffee County to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in region play.
The Red Raiders will remain at home next Friday for a non-region matchup with Smyrna. The Bulldogs enter at 3-2 overall after beating Rockvale 28-21 Thursday night.
