By Staff
Stephen Moore
Franklin County Times
RED BAY – The fourth-ranked Red Bay Tigers' first round 45-14 triumph over the Pleasant Valley Raiders involved three nip-and-tuck quarters that produced a narrow 24-14 advantage before the host team pulled away in the final period.
Red Bay (11-0) struck first when quarterback Anthony Horton hit Joe McKinney with a 23-yard strike only five plays into the first quarter, and Pablo Makepeace nailed the PAT to put Red Bay ahead 7-0.
Makepeace struck again with a 44-yard field goal to make it 10-0 Tigers with 3:43 left in the first quarter.
After Pleasant Valley (7-4) scored on a long drive, Red Bay responded with a 28-yard run by Josh Senkbeil with 5:06 left in the second quarter.
The Raiders narrowed the lead again a 4-yard touchdown pass, and a successful 2-point conversion left the Tigers clinging to a 17-14 lead with 21 seconds left in the half.
Following a rare field goal miss by Makepeace, Red Bay recovered two Raiders fumbles to set up a Senkbeil score with 2:15 left in the third period, and Horton hit Caleb Collins with a 35-yard bomb to make it 31-14 Tigers with 9:41 left to play in the game.
Horton and Senkbeil both scored on short runs to ensure Red Bay's victory in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
"The name of the game in the playoffs is survival, and tonight we survived," Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys said. "I'm proud of our team. Every round brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal, but we will only get there a week at a time."