SHEFFIELD — Although the game might have started a little shakier than head coach Dale Jeffreys might have liked, by the end of the game there was little doubt his Red Bay squad was going to beat Sheffield.

The Tigers dominated in the second half and earned a hard-fought 27-10 victory.

“We made one or two mistakes,” said Jeffreys. “We faced some adversity, but we didn’t fold.”

Matt Belue scored on a 15-yard run and Steven Wood added an 18-yard touchdown run to help Red Bay build a 13-7 lead at halftime.

The Tigers racked up 165 rushing yards in the first half and 14 passing yards.

Sheffield took the ball to start the second half and ran nearly nine minutes off the clock on the possession. Holding onto the ball that long did not translate into much production offensively as the Red Bay defense stiffened and held the Bulldogs to a field goal.

Red Bay quickly answered when Belue scored his second touchdown of the night 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, extending Red Bay’s lead to 20-10.

“Offensively we kept it real simple, but that’s what they were giving us,” Jeffreys said. “We have to mix in throwing it some more.”

With 7:15 remaining in the game, Red Bay’s Hunter Childers scored the Tigers’ final touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run.

Sheffield appeared to be heading into the end zone late in the game, but the receiver fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line and Dmitri Humphrey recovered the ball for the Tigers. Red Bay was able to run the final 5:17 off the clock on the ensuing drive.

Jeffreys said Red Bay seemed a little stronger than Sheffield in the second half and credited his team with the hard work they put in during the summer program.

Red Bay will host Lexington Friday night to open region play.

The Tigers started slow against Lexington last season and lost the game 26-21.