Smash-mouth football propels Red Bay to upset win over Colbert County
For those who like good old-fashioned, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust football games, the Red Bay-Colbert County face off Friday was one for the ages.
It was the first time the two schools have faced each other since 1961, and the style of play harkened back to that era as well. After having blown out Addison last week – a team that easily beat the Tigers a few weeks before – Colbert County seemed to be well on the way to clinching the top spot in the region. Red Bay and coach Michael Jackson had other plans – a well-executed strategy to upset the Indians.
It worked.
Red Bay held the explosive Colbert County offense to 145 total yards. The Tigers netted 185 total yards, but they dominated the time of possession, gaining a few yards here and there, sustaining drives and eating up the clock.
In fact, Red Bay’s first drive of the game chewed up nine minutes of the first quarter.
“Our game plan was to control their speed and limit their big-play opportunities,” said Red Bay coach Michael Jackson. “We were really good in critical situations.”
Red Bay was five-for-five on fourth down conversions, including two that went for touchdowns and one that sealed the win – a fourth-and-two from the Tigers’ own 28-yard line with a minute to go in the game, keeping the Indians from getting the ball back.
“We talked all week about playing with passion,” said Jackson. “If you play with passion, it is sustainable. I think our kids bought into that, and it showed Friday night.”
Red Bay scored at the end of that opening nine-minute drive on a four-yard touchdown run by Kolby Bragwell to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 3:03 to go in first quarter.
Neither team would score again until midway through the third quarter, when the Tigers struck again – this time through the air.
Red Bay extended the lead to 12-0 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter, on a 25-yard pass from Bragwell to Colin Humphres.
Colbert County, however, was not ready to give up. The Indians scored on a six-yard run with 6:21 to go in the game. With the extra point, Colbert County cut the score to 12-7 and was a touchdown from winning the game. In fact, the Indians moved the ball to the Red Bay 25-yard line with less than two and a half minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers defense came up strong and stopped Colbert County on fourth down to seal the win.
Colbie King was Red Bay’s leading rusher with 53 yards on 18 carries. Bragwell was three-for-five passing, 63 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Cam McKinney, the Tigers’ leading tackler, led the defense in this game with eight tackles. Alex Kennedy followed with seven tackles.
Ironically, Red Bay turned the ball over three times and was still able to come away with the win.
Red Bay improves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the region. The Tigers have two region games remaining. They will travel to Tanner Friday night and host Tharptown for homecoming next week.
