Will Coffee County notch a win over Tullahoma for the first time since 2016 or will this year’s matchup see the Wildcats hold on to the coveted Coffee Pot for the fourth-straight season?
That answer will be decided this Thursday, as Tullahoma will host the Red Raiders for the 95th Annual Coffee Pot Game. The game was moved up a day to avoid potential storms.
Coffee County last won the trophy in 2016 giving it back-to-back wins in the yearly rivalry game. The Red Raiders won the Coffee Pot reclaimed the Coffee Pot for the first time in eight seasons with a win in 2015. Behind the performance of quarterback Alontae Taylor, Coffee County dominated Tullahoma 42-7 at home in Manchester.
In 2016, the Red Raiders followed that with another dominating performance, this time in Tullahoma. Once again, Taylor torched Tullahoma, this time leading Coffee County to a 49-10 victory.
However, Tullahoma got its revenge in 2017 and has held on to the Coffee Pot ever since. The Wildcats stunned Taylor and his teammates, battling back from a 28-7 halftime deficit on the road, rallying to pull off a 42-41 win.
With Taylor graduated, as he is now playing football at the University of Tennessee, Tullahoma has dominated the last two Coffee Pot matchups. The 2018 season saw Tullahoma dominate in a 48-8 home victory. Last year, the Wildcats dominated, shutting out Coffee County 35-0 in Manchester.
Heading into this year’s Coffee Pot contest, both the Red Raiders and Tullahoma are coming off season-opening wins. The Wildcats kicked off the season last Thursday, dominating in a 38-13 home win over Shelbyville. Coffee County was able to hold at home against Franklin County last Friday night, pulling off a 21-19 victory.
During that win over the Rebels, Coffee County grabbed control first with a 13-play scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead. Connor Shemwell capped off that drive a 4-yard run.
In the second quarter, Shemwell padded his team’s lead with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Verge. Shemwell completed eight of his 15 pass attempts on the evening.
Red Raider running back Marshall Haney picked up over 100 yards rushing, ending his night with 106 carries on 19 carries. He also finished with a touchdown, finding the end zone from 21 yards away, a score that proved to be the game-winner.
Coffee County surrendered 246 yards to Franklin County, the majority of which came from the air. Rebels’ quarterback Ke’Andre Johnson completed 10 of his 20 pass attempts for 186 yards, including a pair of long scores.
Johnson was able to find Marquice Toliver for an 85-yard touchdown. Na’Zaiyah caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Johnson and Franklin County trailed 21-13 heading into halftime.
Franklin County put up the lone touchdown in the second half and that came by way of a defensive play in the third quarter. Anthony Seno was able to intercept one of Shemwell’s passes and the Rebels’ senior scored easily to cut his team’s deficit to 21-19.
Electing to go for a 2-point conversion, Franklin County failed the opportunity. The remainder of Friday’s matchup became a defensive stalemate and the Red Raiders were able to hold on for the victory.
Heading into this week’s matchup, Coffee County’s secondary will have to play tighter as Tullahoma proved it isn’t afraid to get the long passing game going. In his first varsity start, Wildcats’ quarterback Ryan Scott threw for three touchdowns in last Thursday’s win over Shelbyville.
Scott first found Brody Melton for a 61-yard touchdown, then connected with Jakobe Thomas for a 60-yard score and later hit Joe Duncan for a 50-yard strike. The Tullahoma junior completed five of his nine pass attempts on the evening for 187 yards, all of which came in the first half.
The bulk of the Wildcats’ points came in the first half as they took a 28-13 advantage into halftime. Tullahoma added two more scores in the final two periods, the first of which came on a 31-yard field goal by Justus Chadwick.
Thomas capped off the scoring for Tullahoma in the ballgame, reaching the end zone for his third time on the night, rushing for a 2-yard score. After previously catching a touchdown pass from Scott, Thomas also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
The senior wide receiver collected 84 rushing yards on 14 carries for the Wildcats. Scott also added 30 rushing yards of his own on his seven opportunities. Jaxon Sheffield additionally had 14 carries and ran for 56 yards for Tullahoma.
On the defensive front, the Wildcats allowed one big play on their way to limiting Shelbyville to 282 yards. After Tullahoma scored first to start the game, Golden Eagles’ quarterback Kade Cunningham found the end zone on a 6-yard to even the ballgame.
The Wildcats countered with 21-straight points to open up a 28-7 advantage. Just before halftime, Cunningham found Lakota Young for a 79-yard touchdown. That would be the final score for Shelbyville.
Cunningham completed nine of his 17 pass attempts for 161 yards, while also carrying the ball 16 times for 76 yards. Young had five catches for 122 yards. Running back Demarchus Smalls added 42 yards on 13 carries for Shelbyville.
Prior the 95th Annual Coffee Pot Game, fans will need to pre-purchase their tickets as Tullahoma will not be selling them at the box office. Those with questions can reach out to either school to find out how to purchase their tickets. Kickoff this Thursday is slated for 7 p.m.