It took three plays for the Coffee County Central Red Raiders to take the lead over Franklin County Friday night.
The Raiders never looked back.
Connor Shemwell connected with Kelby Walker down the sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown strike just minutes into the game and the Raider defense was stout as CHS left Winchester with a 21-14 win Friday night – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.
MISS THE GAME? LISTEN TO THE REPLAY. CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST HALF. . . . . . CLICK HERE FOR THE SECOND HALF.
It was the start of a solid night for Shemwell – the Raiders’ senior signal caller who was just one day removed from medical clearance to participate after tearing his ACL in early March. Unofficially, Shemwell went 14-of-20 through the air for 130 and a pair of touchdowns. He later connected with Jahlin Osbourne in the corner of the end zone from 6 yards out.
Coffee County’s other score came on a 17 yard rumble up the middle by Konor Heaton, who racked up 137 yards on 29 totes. Osbourne led the Raiders in receptions with 6 for 47 yards.
Coffee County led at halftime and had a 21-7 lead with just over 3 minutes to play before the Rebels cut into the lead on an 11 yard touchdown run by Manny Scott.
The Rebels had the ball in the waning seconds and go into Raider territory, but linebacker Kendall James picked off a Keandre Johnson pass to seal the win. The Raider defense was stout all night – intercepting Johnson three times. Cole Pippenger and Ian Welden also had interceptions.
The Raiders are 1-0 with the win and will host Tullahoma on Friday in the annual Coffee Pot Rivalry. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Carden-Jarrell Field. Paper tickets will be sold at CHS through the week and online at www.gofan.co. Tickets will not be sold at the gate.
Of Course the broadcast will be on Thunder Radio – Friday Night Thunder Pregame begins at 6 p.m: 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.
