Red Bay Tigers throttle Hatton
The Red Bay Tigers methodically put away the Hatton Hornets 47-8 the old fashioned way Thursday – with a dominant defense and ground game – to stay undefeated on the season.
It was a solid warm-up for a much-anticipated matchup this week between the Tigers and the Mars Hill Panthers. Red Bay’s defense essentially mounted a shutout, allowing eight junk points with 42 second to go in the game.
“Our guys played well after the first quarter,” said Red Bay coach Michael Jackson. “We played the best three quarter of football we’ve played all year. The guys did a great job with big plays when we needed them.”
The Tigers dominated in the trenches, rushing the ball for 305 yards and holding Hatton to 92 yards on the ground. The Hornets were forced to go to the air to play catchup, completing half their passes for 170 yards.
Aiden Quinn led the way for Red Bay with 19 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. Hunter King ran the ball 13 times for 89 yards and three scores.
Jalen Vinson completed three of eight passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown passes went to Mason Holt, his only two catches of the night.
The Tigers got their first score early in the game on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Vinson to Holt. The two-point conversion run by King was good, giving the Tigers an 8-0 lead.
Red Bay scored twice in the second quarter – on a two-yard run by King and a four-yard run by Quinn, giving the Tigers a 22-0 lead at the half.
Red Bay added two more scores in the third quarter, on a 31-yard run by King and a 55-yard pass from Vinson to Holt, extending the Tigers’ lead to 34-0 midway through the third quarter.
The Tigers’ final two scores came in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard run by King and a 10-yard run by Whitfield.
Red Bay hosts Mars Hill Friday night, looking to remain unbeaten and extend a three-year home winning streak.