By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – The Red Bay football team has had its fill of road games this season.
After a fall jamboree game at Tharptown, the Tigers traveled 200 miles round-trip to Huntsville for a game against Lee in week one.
The next week Red Bay returned to Huntsville for its region opener at Westminster Christian Academy.
Now that week three is here, the Tigers can play before their home crowd for the first time as they host Hatton tonight.
"(The players wanted to walk the field before the game because it has been so long since they had been down there," Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys said.
After the Tigers struggled on offense in the loss against Lee, they found a rhythm at Westminster and scored 51 points in a winning effort.
Jeffreys was happy with the way quarterback Cody Palmer rebounded from the loss.
"We got better. We went from completing 3-of-22 passes to completing 15-of-22 passes," Jeffreys said. "It was good to see (Palmer) get up off the mat after the loss."
In addition to finding an offensive rhythm, Red Bay also found a punter. Jeffreys said sophomore Kevin Hastings made some big punts against Westminster including pinning the Wildcats inside their own 5-yard line on three occasions.
With a win tonight, Red Bay will increase its winning streak against region opponents to 10 games. The Tigers have already defeated Hatton twice during the streak.
Jeffreys warned the Tigers must remain sharp because the difference between the top team and the bottom team in the region is not as big as it once was.
"(Hatton) is a lot better. Everyone in the region is a lot better," Jeffreys said. "There is a lot more parity this year than there has been in a long time."