Red Bay falls 28-21 to Southeastern
The Red Bay Tigers, fresh off their first region championship since 2019, lost 28-21 to Southeastern in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs The Tigers came out roaring. Their opening drive was clinical, capped by a score that put them up 7-0. But Southeastern quickly answered, setting up a brutal, back-andforth contest. As the first half drew to a close, Red Bay found themselves deep in Southeastern territory. The field goal unit trotted onto the field, only for the snap to sail past the holder, who quickly scooped it up and fired a pass to an open receiver in the endzone.
The botched field goal turned touchdown made it 13-7 at the break, and the momentum seemed to be painted Orange and Blue.
That momentum was shattered on Southeastern’s first possession of the third quarter. Marching down the field, Southeastern faced a critical fourth and 9. Southeastern scored on a touchdown pass and the extra point put Southeastern ahead for the first time.
From that point on, the two teams swapped touchdowns.
The dual-threat mastery of quarterback Jeremiah Thorne, who had accounted for over 1,600 yards and 22 total touchdowns throughout the season, kept the Tigers moving. Running back Jaxon Vinson, who was well on his way to his 2,032-yard, 26-touchdown season total, pounded the ball repeatedly, grinding out painful yards.
As the clock ticked into the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stood deadlocked at 21-21.
The final, decisive drive belonged to Southeastern. Methodical and draining, Southeastern chewed up the clock with a relentless ground game, forcing the Red Bay defense, which had proudly limited opponents to around 20 points per game all year, to bend until it finally broke. With only a few minutes left, the lead changed hands one last time — 28-21, Southeastern.
Now, the burden fell to the Red Bay offense, the same unit that had powered the Tigers to over 4,000 yards of total offense for the season. Thorne mixed short passes to Davien Colburn (who finished the season with 42 catches for 710 yards and 9 TDs) with timely scrambles.
With just one minute left on the clock, and the ball sitting close to the Southeastern 40-yard line, a jarring hit in the backfield popped the football free, and Southeastern recovered.
Coach Tyler Jeffreys, obviously hurt by the loss, was proud of his players.
“Our kids bought in from the first day and did everything we asked of them,” Jeffreys said. “We have kids on our football team that are not just good football players but good men as well and I most proud of that.”
