Football2004

2004 Schedule

Week by Week Results   (Below)

Home games - Underlined                                    RB-  Opp

August 19 at Russellville (Thurs)    21-21

August 27 at Belmont     41-22

Sept. 3 at Clements     43-17

Sept. 10 Tanner         35-34 OT

Sept. 17 at Colbert Heights Postponed) Oct. 29    38-6

Sept. 24 at Good Hope (Cullman) 35-7

Oct. 1 Cherokee   35-14

Oct. 8 at Lexington 28-19

Oct. 15 Hatton   28-12

Oct. 22 Phil Campbell 28-7

Oct. 29

Moved to Nov. 5   Muscle Shoals 21-10

Playoffs

Red Bay 45 West End 0

Red Bay 14 Randolph Co 12

Woodland 36 Red Bay 14

08-22-04

Fit to be tied Jamboree Game

Red Bay 21    Russellville 21
Mike Prince
FranklinCountyTimes Staff Writer

If Thursday’s preseason jamboree with the Russellville Golden Tigers is any indication of things to come, the Red Bay varsity football team will offer stiff competition to other schools playing in Class 2A of the Alabama High School Athletic Association this season.

In two quarters of varsity play at a near capacity Russellville Stadium, the Red Bay Tigers gave Russellville a fierce battle, tying the Class 5A squad, 21-21. In junior varsity action in the second half, Red Bay outscored Russellville 7-0. Approximately 7,000 fans watched as Red Bay showed glimpses of promise on the clear, muggy-warm evening.

“I saw some good things and some bad things out there tonight,” said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys. “We were able to move the ball offensively, but our run blocking needs work.

“On defense, we missed a few tackles that really cost us, but our team played hard,” he said. “Our players came here to compete, and they did. We just need to work to get better for next week when the games start to count.”

Led by the running and passing of senior quarterback Kurt Kennedy, Red Bay stormed 80 yards on their first possession and scored when Byron Hellums powered his way into the endzone from the 5-yard line. The PAT was good, and the Tigers led, 7-0.

“Kurt (Kennedy) played well,” Jeffreys said. “He took some hard hits and played tough. He also threw the ball really well, I thought.”

The Golden Tigers appeared shocked by Red Bay’s impressive drive, but rebounded to tie the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter on a fourth-down run by junior quarterback Jeremy Helms.

Red Bay took the lead again when Brandon Colburn returned a Russellville fumble 60 yards for a touchdown, making the score 14-7.

The Golden Tigers bounced back on the next play from scrimmage with a 65-yard touchdown run by senior running back Maurice McCullough. The PAT tied the score at 14-14.

Red Bay regained the lead midway through the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Hellums. The score was setup by a spectacular fourth-down pass from Kennedy to Colburn on the previous play.

Late in the second quarter, Russellville scored the half’s final points when Helms connected with Michael Abernathy on a 59-yard touchdown pass. The PAT tied the game at 21-21.

“I was surprised by a few things I saw tonight,” said Russellville coach Perry Swindall. “Red Bay is a quality football team, and they opened our eyes to some things. They exposed some weaknesses in our football team, and we’re going to try to fix those things before next week.

“We had some mistakes at quarterback that we’re going to have to work on,” he said. “I’m glad we have this opportunity to see where we’re at. Now we can iron some bugs out.”

Red Bay players and coaches were noticeably pleased by their performance against Russellville. The Tigers seemed to take special pride in the fact that most of their team’s key players lineup on both offense and defense, while Russellville is able to field a team that doesn’t have to take on “double duty.”

“I think we were big-eyed at first, but once things got started, we just played our game,” Colburn said. “Most of our guys play on both sides of the ball. We did a lot of conditioning this summer. All that hard work paid off tonight, especially on defense.

“We’re not going to get the big head, but playing well against Russellville certainly helps our confidence going into the regular season,” he said.

Russellville is ranked No. 2 among 5A teams in the AHSAA preseason poll, while Red Bay is picked No. 5 in 2A.

“We proved we can play with Russellville tonight,” Kennedy said. “If we can play with Russellville, we can play with anybody.”

Red Bay travels to Belmont, Miss., Friday for their first game, while Russellville opens their season Friday at home against Deshler (No. 3, 4A).

Game 1

Red Bay rolls past Belmont 41-22
By Derek Gober
FOR THE TIMESDAILY

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BELMONT, Miss. -- Red Bay opened the season ranked No. 5 in Class 2A, thanks in large part to the Tigers' returning offensive players.

Those players didn't disappoint in Friday night's season opener.

The Tigers (1-0) rolled up 510 yards of offense and had two other touchdowns called back by penalties in a 41-22 victory over Belmont.

"We have some big-time weapons on offense, and they made big plays," Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys said.

Quarterback Kurt Kennedy rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown, and he threw for 128 yards and two more scores.

Byron Hellums added 85 yards on six carries, and scored on a 53-yard run in the first quarter.

Brandon Coburn, a senior, sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter, but he returned in the second half to catch a 20-yard touchdown and scored on a 67-yard run.

After playing to a 14-all tie in the first half, the Tigers scored 21 consecutive points in the third quarter.

Belmont opened the scoring on Blake Taylor's 1-yard run.

Red Bay needed just two plays to answer, as Hellums ran 53 yards for the touchdown. Chris Frame hit the first of five extra points to tie the game at 7.

Kennedy added a 22-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Belmont's Reid Gann threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chad Sartain.

Hellums scored on a 9-yard run early in the third quarter to put the Tigers on top for good at 21-14.

Brent Sartain's fumble recovery on the kickoff led to Kennedy's 40-yard touchdown pass to Brian Humphres and a 28-14 lead.

Then, with 1:09 to play in the third quarter, Coburn scored on a 67-yard run. He later caught a 20-yard touchdown from Kennedy.

Taylor added a 2-yard touchdown run for Belmont.

Game 2

Tigers topple Colts 43-17
By Lance Hyche
For the TimesDaily

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CLEMENTS -- The scoreboard showed a pretty convincing decision -- Red Bay 43, Clements 17.

Red Bay head coach Dale Jeffreys, however, was not convinced his team was so impressive on a rainy Friday night.

"We're just not a very good team right now," Jeffreys said. "We're still making too many mistakes on both sides of the ball. We've got a lot of work to do."

Red Bay is 2-0 after winning the region opener for both teams.

The third-ranked Tigers actually trailed 17-14 at halftime but scored three times within a five-minute stretch in the third quarter, turning the deficit into a 36-17 lead.

Defensive back Brandon Colburn supplied the key play when he intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown with 7:31 remaining in the third period. Red Bay was never challenged again.

"I was just playing my coverage," Colburn said. "I saw the ball, and the next thing I saw was the end zone."

Colburn had two interceptions, and Randy Lowery had another in the end zone to stop a Clements second-quarter drive. Matt Hester also recovered a fumble for Red Bay.

On offense, Kurt Kennedy and running back Byron Hellums could not be controlled. Hellums scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 5 and 2 yards. He finished with 121 yards on 17 carries.

Kennedy, meanwhile had scoring runs of 36 and 7 yards, while rushing for 102 yards.

After Kennedy and Hellums staked Red Bay to a 14-0 lead, Clements got the halftime lead when kicker Jerremy Craig kicked a 37-yard field goal with one second to go in the half.

Jeffreys said his team simplified his offense at halftime and started running right at the Colts defense. Hellums cashed in with 85 of his total in the second half.

09-12-04 Tigers win overtime thriller

Red Bay 35 Tanner 34 OT
Jason Houston
FCT Managing Editor

RED BAY — Two seasons, two points. That’s all that has separated region rivals Red Bay and Tanner.

After losing last year to the Rattlers by one point, Red Bay returned the favor Friday night in front of a packed house at Fred Bostick, Jr. Memorial Stadium with a 35-34 overtime win.

The Tigers (3-0) scored what they hoped would be the game-winning touchdown with 3:24 left in the game on a speed option pitch from Kurt Kennedy to Byron Hellums. The extra point, attempted by a back-up kicker due to an injury to starting kicker Chris Frame, was missed, giving Red Bay a 27-24 lead.

Nine plays later, Thomas Adams kicked a game-tying 48-yard field goal for Tanner with 24 seconds in the game.

The teams went to overtime, and Tanner scored on the first play on offense, but Kennedy matched it with a 10-yard run on Red Bay’s first overtime play.

Rather than kick the PAT, Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys opted to go for the two-point conversion and the win.

“Our kicker got hurt and our back-up kicker is a freshman. He missed one earlier, and we made the decision we’d rather put it in Kurt’s hand than in a freshman’s,” Jeffreys said. “We had a little play-action pass outside. He bought some time until the guy got open and he made a great pass and it was a great catch by Brandon Colburn.”

Red Bay controlled the first half. Tanner fumbled on the game’s first play, and Red Bay took advantage, driving 32 yards in six plays and scoring on a one-yard plunge by Hellums. The Tigers then took a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter on a one-yard dive by Kennedy.

Tanner’s Ryan Powers returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to make the score 14-7.

Kennedy scored on another one-yard run just before the half to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead.

The Tigers offense sputtered in the second half with two three-and-outs in the third quarter.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Jeffreys said. “We did a good job keeping the ball away from them in the first half, and came out in the second half and went three-and-out twice in the second half. I didn’t do a very good job in the second half. But they have a great team and you have to give them credit. It could have gone either way.”

Red Bay had 12 first downs in the first half to Tanner’s one.

Adams kicked a 30-yard field goal for Tanner midway through the third quarter to make the score 21-10. The Rattlers then pulled to within four at 21-17 on the strength of a 6-yard scoring run by Powers, setting up the late-game fireworks.

“That was a great high school football game,” Jeffreys said. “The kids played great. These kids didn’t panic. They believed they could win. They know Kurt can get them down the field.

“It feels great,” Jeffreys said. “This is a big win for us. We made some steps forward tonight.”

The Tigers go on the road next week to face Colbert Heights.

Red Bay 28 Hatton 12

Tigers pull away in battle of unbeatens

Monday, October 18, 2004 9:43 AM EDT

Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor

RED BAY - The call was for a punt block, but instead, it turned into a punt return for a touchdown, which was fine with Tiger fans.

Kurt Kennedy's 64-yard punt return for a score late in the second quarter blew open a close game and spurred the Tigers on to a 28-12 win over region rival Hatton in front of a packed house at Fred Bostick Jr. Memorial Stadium Friday night. The win moved the Tigers to within one win of a Region championship.

"We had planned to block it," Kennedy said of the play. "When I caught it, there was a little hole there. From there, everyone did a tremendous job blocking. I got lucky and kept my feet and found a hole, but I credit that to my blocking."

Said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys, with a touch of sarcasm, "That was a good call - that punt block/run for a touchdown. We had the block on, but Kurt can make things happen."

Hatton, who entered the game undefeated, showed their game plan early, with four straight runs by Ross Parker, who came into the game averaging around 200 yards rushing per game. The Red Bay defense limited him to just 71 for the game.

"Our plan was to key on him," Kennedy said. "We wanted to make other players beat us. We didn't do as good a job in the first half as we wanted to, but in the second half we pretty much shut him down."

Parker got Hatton on the board first with a seven-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to cap an 82-yard drive. The PAT was missed. Red Bay answered with a drive to the Hatton one-yard line, but a fumble killed the drive.

The Tigers (7-0, 5-0 Class 2A, Region 8) then forced a three-and-out and drove 41 yards in seven plays to take a 7-6 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Kennedy.

On the ensuing Hatton possession, the Tigers forced a punt and Kennedy took it all the way for the score. Red Bay took a 14-6 lead to the locker room.

The Tigers forced another three-and-out to begin the third quarter, and the offense drove 60 yards for a score, with Brandon Colburn scoring from two yards out to give Red Bay a 21-6 lead.

"The three-and-out in the third quarter and then scoring was big for us," Jeffreys said. "That took them out of their game plan; they wanted to just give it to Parker and we made them throw more than they wanted to."

Early in the fourth quarter, Hatton took advantage of a short Red Bay punt and drove 35 yards in six plays for a touchdown, with Parker taking it in from two yards out to pull the Hornets to 21-12.

Hatton got the ball back after forcing a Red Bay punt, but Randy Lowery intercepted a Hornet pass to give the Tigers the ball at the Hatton 36-yard line. Three plays later, Byron Hellums scored from 16 yards out to provide the final margin.

"I am proud of our kids for winning," Jeffreys said. "We played really hard tonight. We had a lot of our kids to step up, and we've been waiting on that. We are still not playing pass defense all that well, but we played well against the run tonight, especially in the second half. We're not flashy, but we're winning. That's the most important part."