Red Bay suffers first loss 39-6
By Staff
Keith Ledbetter
For the FCT
Six miles and a state line is all that separates the Red Bay Tigers and the Cardinals of Belmont, Miss., two high schools that have had a long-standing rivalry through the years.
It wasn't a region game for either school, but the game intensity was as high as a final championship game.
Friday night's game between the two schools lived up to all expectations, as both teams had their share of penalties and turnovers.
The Cardinals chalked up several personal fouls and even had a player ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct during the fourth quarter.
"We just got whipped," said Tiger Head Football Coach Dale Jeffreys about his team's 39-6 loss to the Cardinals. "They've just got the better team."
The Tigers managed to put together several drives, but seven turnovers during the game was just too much for the young team to recover from.
"In a big game like this and against a team like them, we needed to take every opportunity to score.
"We just didn't get a chance to do that," added Jeffreys.
The Cardinals stunned the Tigers when Belmont's Gage Smith scored on the first play of the game with a 58-yard run up the middle of the Red Bay defense.
Red Bay's only TD came just minutes later when Chase Lindsey covered 15 yards after taking taking a pitch out around the left side. A missed PAT left Red Bay trailing by one, 7-6.
The Tigers took to the air early, resulting in interceptions that the Cardinals capitalized on.
Belmont's Dustin Poole scored following a turnover six plays earlier. Poole scored on a 57-yard run.
The Cardinals' Smith again broke open a 58-yard TD run midway through the second quarter advancing their lead to 20-6 at halftime.
An injury to Red Bay lineman Curtis Morrell near the end of the third quarter delayed the game for 20 minutes. Morrell was taken the ER with a stinger to his neck. His condition was not thought to be serious.
After play resumed, Belmont's Smith scored from inside the 10-yard line to advance the Cardinals lead to 26-6.
Smith scored again with 6:03 remaining in the fourth quarter with a 65-yard TD run. The Cardinals added their final touchdown of the night with 1:43 remaining in the game.
Next week the Tigers host Phil Campbell during homecoming. The game begins at 7 p.m.
