Tigers sting Yellow Jackets to win first round

The Red Bay Tigers toppled the Winston County Yellow Jackets 26-0 to advance to the second round of the Class 2A football playoffs.

Red Bay amassed 313 total yards, mostly on the ground, 226, en route to the shutout win.

Red Bay ceded field position early in the game with a penalty on the kick-off return, going three-and-out on the first drive of the game.

Red Bay stopped Winston County on their next drive and forced a fourth-and-long punt that pinned the Tigers inside their own 10-yard line.

On Red Bay’s next possession, a pass interference call on Winston County on a deep pass got the Tigers out of their hole – and that is when the offense started clicking.

Big runs by Jalen Vison and Mason Holt eventually landed Red Bay in scoring position. Vinson capped off the drive with a one-yard run into the endzone with 42 second to go in the first quarter. Aiden Quinn added the two-point conversion run to give Red Bay an 8-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a good drive of their own, going the length of the field before being stopped on the 10-yard line by Red Bay’s defense on fourth down.

Red Bay struck fast on the next drive on a 48-yard pass from Vinson to Holt to the Winston County eight-yard line. The Tigers ran the ball to the goal line but didn’t make it in.

A penalty set the Tigers back to the five-yard line. Vinson ran the ball toward the Red Bay sideline but couldn’t find an opening, so, reversing field, he sprinted toward the other sideline and into the endzone for a five-yard score, giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 3:13 to go in the first half.

Both teams opened the second half trading interceptions. Red Bay picked off a Winston County pass on the first drive, and Winston County returned the favor, picking off a Red Bay pass.

On the next drive, Vinson picked off another Yellow Jacket pass near midfield and took it 52 yards to paydirt to extend Red Bay’s lead to 20-0 midway through the third quarter.

Red Bay added another score late in the game on a 36-yard run by Quinn to give Red Bay a 26-0 lead.

Big players for the Tigers included Hunter King, who carried the ball 13 times for 83 yards. Quinn carried the ball 12 times for 72 yards and a touchdown. Holt caught four passes for 87 yards, and Vinson completed four of seven passes for 87 yards.

Red Bay will travel to Spring Garden Friday night for round two of the Class 2A playoffs.