Tigers fall to Belmont in border war

BELMONT, Miss. — It was a tale of two halves for Red Bay Friday night in the Tigers’ 45-11 loss to Belmont.

Red Bay (2-3, 1-2) gave up two touchdowns early, but a 30-yard field goal by Chase Lindsey kept the Tigers in the game and reduced the deficit to 13-3 at halftime.

“We were in the red zone three times and did not score,” said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys. “They took the ball away one time and ran it back for a touchdown. It should have been 6-3 at halftime.”

Belmont used its size advantage in the second half to pull away.

“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked,” said Jeffreys. “They were just more physical than we were.”

Belmont put together a long scoring drive to open the third quarter then capitalized on a Red Bay turnover to extend its lead to 26-13.

The Cardinals added two more touchdowns before Red Bay could cut into the lead.

Hunter Childers found Dmitri Humphrey for 34-yard touchdown pass with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Childers completed a pass to Lindsey for the 2-point conversion to reduce the Cardinals’ lead to 39-11.

Belmont answered a few moments later with a long scoring run on the first play of the ensuing drive.

Red Bay had one more shot at scoring, but Belmont intercepted a pass in the closing seconds of the game.

Belmont gained 350 yards of offense, mostly on the ground. Red Bay had 247 yards of offense.

Childers completed 16-of-27 passes for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Kevin Hastings caught six passes for 57 yards and Matt Senkbeil rushed for 76 yards.

Red Bay returns to region play next week when the Tigers host Hatton.