Red Bay knocks off WCA
By Staff
Stephen Moore
For the FCT
RED BAY – Red Bay outlasted a scrappy Westminster Christian team Friday night, pulling away in the second half for a 38-17 triumph for the host team.
"I wasn't satisfied with our tackling tonight, but we survived a flat first half to win and I'm proud of our team," said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys. "It's part of the growing process for a young team."
Westminster struck swiftly, returning a punt 81 yards for the game's first score.
The Tigers responded with a six-play drive culminating with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Childers to Jesse Venable.
Red Bay's dogged fourth and goal stand on the Wildcats' next drive gave the Tigers possession of the ball on their own 8-yard line. Just over a minute later Childers again connected with Venable for a 91-yard TD pass.
Westminster answered with a stubborn seven-play drive that produced a 40-yard field goal.
Early in the third quarter Red Bay mounted the night's longest sustained drive, covering 70 yards in nearly four minutes. Andre Newell crossed the goal line from two yards out to make it 21-10.
After seesaw possessions, Red Bay settled for a 21-yard field goal from Lindsey, stretching their lead to 24-10 with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats quickly clawed back into the game, however, with a 40-yard bomb to pull the visitors to within a touchdown as the third period ended.
Chase Lindsey broke through from the 1-yard line to make it 31-17.
The Wildcats began showing signs of fatigue and Red Bay continued their defensive intensity, getting the ball back to score the game's final score when Joseph Reach romped in from 30 yards out with 6:05 left to play.
Red Bay had 589 yards total offense. Ten penalties for 75 yards kept them from breaking the 600 mark.
Childers completed 8-of-10 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Reach and Lindsey combined for over 300 yards rushing while Reach also snagged an interception to end fading Wildcat hopes in the final quarter.
Red Bay (2-0) travels to Hatton this coming Friday for a Region game.
