By Staff
PHIL CAMPBELL – Phil Campbell's Daniel Bryant carried the ball 27 times and gained 155 yards on the ground for the Bobcats, but it was not enough as No.-10 Red Bay pulled out a 27-11 victory in this cross-county rivalry.
The Bobcats opened the scoring with a 22-yard field goal by Adam Mitchell in the first quarter, but Red Bay would not trail long.
Andre Newell returned the ensuing kickoff 80-yards for a touchdown and Cody Armstrong kicked the point after to give the Tigers (4-2, 4-0) a lead they would not surrender.
Nether team would score in the second quarter and the only points scored in the third quarter came when Red Bay's Cody Palmer found Cody Tucker with a 14-yard touchdown pass. Chase Lindsey connected with Tucker on the two-point conversion play to increase the Tigers' lead to 15-3.
Armstrong and Newell both had 5-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter as Red Bay increased the lead to 27-3.
The Bobcats (1-5, 0-4) added a late touchdown when Bryant scored on a 2-yard run. He also scored on the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 16 points.
Statistically, both teams were even as Red Bay managed 209 yards of total offense while the Phil Campbell offense gained 212 yards. The biggest difference was third down conversions. The Tigers were 6-for-12 on third down while the Bobcats were only 1-of-10.
Bryant's 155 rushing yards led the Phil Campbell ground attack, but Jordan Benford added 32 yards on six carries.
Armstrong was the leading rusher for Red Bay, gaining 73 yards on 24 carries. Palmer added 52 yards on nine carries.
Neither team got much going through the air as Palmer completed only 3-of-10 passes for 46 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Benford completed 2-of-11 passes for Phil Campbell, gaining 18 yards and throwing a pair of interceptions.
Tucker was the game's leading receiver, hauling in two passes for 15 yards and a touchdown. Matt Waid led the Bobcats with one reception for 14 yards.
Seth Brown led Phil Campbell with 18 tackles and Bryant recorded an interception.
With the win, Red Bay heads into next week's game against Tanner with the Class 2A, Region 8 lead up for grabs. Both teams are undefeated in region play and the winner of next week's game will likely win the region.
Phil Campbell will travel to Cherokee next week.