Tigers claw past Bobcats for Homecoming win
By Bart Moss for the FCT
The Red Bay Tigers scored 15 unanswered points, including a 25-yard field goal by Hayden Murray with 48 seconds to go in the game, to earn a come-from-behind win over county rival Phil Campbell 22-20 on a rain-soaked field Friday night.
Sitting at fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Red Bay coach Michael Jackson had a decision to make: take one more shot at the end zone or attempt what should be a chip shot field goal. Jackson, whose team has struggled in the kicking game all year, opted for the field goal.
“I thought our kids did a good job in the second half of correcting our mistakes from the first half,” said Red Bay coach Michael Jackson. “We had three new starters on defense with both tackles not dressed. We have had five games this year that have gone down to the later stages of the fourth quarter.
“I think our kids are better for having been involved in so many close games.”
After Phil Campbell called a timeout to ice the kicker, Murray calmly booted the ball through the uprights to lift the Tigers past the Bobcats.
“That was a great job by Hayden in the rainy conditions,” said Jackson. “He has done a great job in the last couple of weeks in practice, so our confidence in him was high.”
The Tigers got on the board quickly just a minute and 20 seconds into the game on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Kolby Bragwell to Kolby King. Murray added the point after to give Red Bay a quick 7-0 lead.
Phil Campbell answered quickly on the next drive. Peyton Thomas connected with Hunter Hutcheson for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Daniel Smith hit the extra point to tie the game 7-7.
The Bobcats took a 14-7 lead with 4:25 to go in the first half on a 5-yard run by Ridge Raper.
Phil Campbell opened the second half with an impressive drive to extend that lead to 20-7 on an 11-yard pass from Peyton Thomas to Brandon Thomas.
Red Bay scored the first points of the Tigers’ comeback with 7:27 to go in the third quarter on a 14-yard run by Aaron Lewey, cutting Phil Campbell’s lead to 20-13.
The Tigers struck again at the start of the fourth quarter when Bragwell sprinted past the Bobcats for a 73-yard touchdown run. The score cut the Bobcats’ lead to 20-19 with 11:02 to go in the game.
Both teams played to a stalemate for the rest of the fourth quarter.
With their backs against the wall late in the game, Red Bay rolled off two big plays to get themselves into scoring position before Murray hit the game-winning kick.
“Obviously we are disappointed in the outcome of the game,” said Phil Campbell coach Ryan Swinney. “But I’m proud of the guys for competing and putting us in a position to win the game. We just gave up too many big plays.”
Red Bay’s Bragwell threw for 117 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 118 years and a touchdown.
Phil Campbell’s Thomas threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Both teams will close out their regular seasons at home Thursday night. The Tigers will host Cherokee. The Bobcats will host Hackleburg.
