RED BAY | Red Bay spent almost the entire night Friday trying to catch Belgreen. The Tigers then spent the last 30 seconds trying to keep the Bulldogs from catching them.
Red Bay overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to beat Belgreen, 24-19, on Sept. 11 at Fred Bostick Jr. Stadium, remaining unbeaten on the season and improving to 2-0 in region play.
It was easily the Tigers’ toughest test so far this season, and head coach Tyler Jeffreys said afterward it may also prove to be one of their most valuable.
“We did not play well,” Jeffreys said. “This might be one of the best things that’s happened to us because I told them the past two weeks, ‘Look guys, it’s not about everybody else. It’s about us and how well we can get better each time we show up. You’ve got to prepare and play your guts out, and if you don’t, then things like tonight happen.’”
Belgreen wasted little time showing the Tigers that Friday’s game would be different. The Bulldogs struck first and converted the extra point for a 7-0 lead, then threatened to add to the advantage later in the first quarter. Belgreen drove deep into Red Bay territory and appeared poised to make it a two-score game, but the Tiger defense came up with one of its biggest plays of the night when Cayson Collins intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the threat.
Belgreen eventually found the end zone again, however. The extra point was unsuccessful, leaving the Bulldogs with a 13-0 advantage and putting Red Bay in its largest deficit of the season.
Jeffreys credited Belgreen and head coach Jonathan Raper for having the Bulldogs ready.
“Credit to Belgreen,” he said. “They played a really great game, had a really great game plan. A lot of that was credit to them, but we were not ourselves in the first half.”
Red Bay finally broke through before halftime, with Davo Colburn scoring the first of what would become four touchdowns on the night. The conversion failed, but the Tigers had cut the deficit to 13-6.
Red Bay made adjustments at halftime and came out playing much better defensively, something Jeffreys said helped get the rest of the team moving in the right direction. The Tigers continued chipping away at the deficit after the break. Colburn reached the end zone for a second time to pull Red Bay within a point at 13-12 after another unsuccessful conversion.
Belgreen answered with its third touchdown of the game to stretch the lead back to 19-12, but the Bulldogs again failed on the conversion.
Red Bay came right back. Colburn scored his third touchdown of the night, and although the Tigers again failed to add the conversion, they had closed the gap to 19-18.
That one point loomed large as the clock wound down. With Red Bay needing one more scoring drive, sophomore quarterback Sawyer Humphries helped guide the Tigers down the field. Jeffreys said the young quarterback showed considerable growth after struggling along with the rest of the offense during the first half. The Tigers drove deep into Belgreen territory, where Colburn finished the comeback with his fourth rushing touchdown of the night, finally putting Red Bay ahead 24-19.
After spending virtually the entire game chasing the Bulldogs, Red Bay suddenly needed its defense to protect a lead. The group did just that. Belgreen mounted one final threat, but Red Bay stopped the Bulldogs at the two-yard-line as time expired to preserve the five-point victory.
“It was a heck of a stop,” Jeffreys said of the defense’s finish.
Colburn carried the offensive load for the Tigers, rushing 29 times for 180 yards and all four Red Bay touchdowns. He also completed one of two passes for 18 yards and caught one pass for seven yards.
Humphries added 77 yards on nine carries and completed one of four passes for seven yards. Andre Brownlee rushed five times for 17 yards, while Collins had an 18-yard reception in addition to his first-quarter interception.
Red Bay finished with 299 yards of total offense, with all four of its touchdowns coming on the ground.
The Tigers will now hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Cherokee for another Class 1A, Region 7 matchup.
“I’m not worried about anybody else,” Jeffreys said. “It’s definitely about us, and we’re more than capable of being better than what we are now. We’ve just got to keep working. We’re young and we made young mistakes, and maybe tonight helped us grow up a lot and understand that we just can’t show up and play and beat people.”
