Red Bay remains undefeated
By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
LEXINGTON - With all the offensive playmakers at Red Bay's disposal, it's probably easy for opposing defenses to overlook Bradley Long.
If recent trends continue, that won't be the case much longer.
The senior fullback turned in his third straight strong performance on Friday, hammering out 89 tough yards on 16 carries as the third-ranked Tigers remained unbeaten with a 28-19 victory over a resilient Lexington squad.
Long put Red Bay (6-0, 4-0 Class 2A, Region 8) in control with a 32-yard touchdown run late in the first half, and his workman-like effort helped the Tigers earn a decisive edge in time of possession despite playing without starting tailback Byron Hellums.
Hellums dressed for the game but did not play because of a leg injury he suffered the previous week against Cherokee.
"I've got great blockers, and I just run as hard as I can," said Long, who narrowly missed posting his third consecutive 100-yard outing. "Byron will be back soon, and I'll be gone. But that's all right. He's our stud. I'm just trying to do the best I can while he's out."
Senior Brandon Colburn stepped in at tailback in Hellums' absence, rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
"Brandon stepped up for us tonight, and Bradley had another really good game," Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys said. "Lexington is a good football team. They've played a really tough schedule, and I knew this game tonight would be a tough one. They did a good job defending our trap plays and our option, but that opened up a few things in the passing game for us."
Senior receiver Randy Lowery provided a nice complement to the running game, catching seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Kurt Kennedy had another solid all-around performance, completing 9-of-14 attempts for 153 yards and two scores while rushing 12 times for 63 yards.
The Tigers finished with 362 yards of offense and 21 first downs. They dominated the time of possession battle, particularly in the first and third quarter when they ran 35 offensive plays compared to 12 for Lexington (1-5, 1-3).
The Golden Bears managed just 41 total yards and one first down in the first and third quarters combined.
"The biggest difference tonight was that we played a lot harder," Jeffreys said. "We made some mistakes on defense, but it's because we're trying to work in some new things on defense and we just haven't practiced them enough yet. I can live with that. I like what we're doing on defense. We just need to work on it a little more and fix some of those mistakes."
Red Bay, which won its 13th straight regular season season game dating back to last season, appeared poised to turn Friday's game into a rout midway through the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were leading by two touchdowns and driving in Lexington territory when Kennedy's third-down pass was intercepted near the goal line and returned out to the Golden Bear 31-yard line.
Three plays later, Lexington scored on a 24-yard shuffle pass from Drew Williams to Jake Herrera to trim the lead to 28-19 with 4:55 remaining. The Golden Bears initially converted the two-point try, but a block-in-the-back penalty nullified the score.
Forced to attempt the conversion again, Williams overthrew Herrera in the end zone and Red Bay maintained a nine-point lead.
The Tigers got one first down on their ensuing drive, and that was enough to effectively put away the feisty Golden Bears.
"It got kind of close there at the end, but that had more to do with Lexington refusing to give up than it did us relaxing or letting up," Jeffreys said. "They're a tough football team. But I'm proud of our guys for winning the game. Offensively, we put 28 points on the board and I started coaching scared. We were having some success throwing the ball, and we probably could have done some more things in the passing game. That's my fault."
Red Bay opened the game with a methodical 14-play, 66-yard drive that ate up over seven minutes of the first quarter. Colburn capped the march with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0.
After forcing a punt, the Tigers moved 48 yards in 10 plays, stretching the lead to 14-0 on a 15-yard touchdown pass by Kennedy.
Lexington got on the board midway through the second quarter when Zac Toner scored from 15 yards out on a shuffle pass.
Freshman Pablo Makepeace returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, and Long burst through the middle three plays later for a 32-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.
Williams hit Herrera with a 32-yard scoring pass in the final minute of the second quarter to make it 21-13 at the half.
Red Bay moved 68 yards in 10 plays on its first drive of the second half, extending the lead to 28-13 on Kennedy's 34-yard scoring strike to Lowery. Lowery made a couple of nifty moves after the catch down the left sideline and out-raced two defenders to the pylon.
The Tigers now shift their attention to arch-rival Hatton, which improved to 6-0 on Friday with a 22-12 victory over Phil Campbell. The Hornets will visit Fred Bostick, Jr. Memorial Stadium this week in a crucial region matchup.
"That will be a big one," Jeffreys said. "Both teams are going in undefeated, and it will probably go a long way towards determing the region champion."
