Freshman QB Alontae Taylor breaks loose on one of his long runs.. Photos by Barry West
Coffee County came up just short on Friday night in high school football. The Raiders hosted 11th ranked Columbia in District 8-AAA play. In the very high scoring game the Lions took the lead at 50-42 with 27 seconds left.
Senior Jimmy Hollandsworth, who started at quarterback the first two games of the season switched to TE against Columbia. Hollandsworth was called upon to return to QB for the final drive of the game. After throwing an incompletion on his first throw the senior found Boone Riddle over the middle on the next play. Riddle made a great catch for 43 yards to set the Raiders up at the Columbia 27 with 10 seconds left. On the next play Hollandsworth used his strong arm to find Riddle again at the Lions 3-yard line with four seconds left in the game. On the final play Hollandsworth scrambled to find an open receiver but he could not and he took off running and dove for the goal-line coming up just short as the incredibly exciting game ended.
Freshman QB Alontae Taylor rolled up 227 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on only 13 carries and was 6-of-9 passing for 100 yards and another score.
Cody Howes scored 4 times on the night three times on the ground and he caught a TD pass.
Kicker Cole Hawkins booted 6 extra points on the night.
The difference maker for Columbia was Mario Williams who rushed for 295 yards and five touchdowns.
Both teams combined for 900 yards of offence.
The Gateway Tire and Service Center Co-players of the game were Riddle and Taylor.
Download the radio broadcast
Coffee County will travel to McMinnville on Thursday night, that’s right Thursday for a 7pm kickoff. Join Thunder Radio for a special pre-game show at 6pm followed by game action.
