GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Tullahoma High School football team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 28-14 win over Lawrence County. This brings their overall record to 4-2.

Tullahoma was troubled by penalties in the first half of this game, which Lawrence used as a gateway to stick around. Tullahoma secured the opening touchdown of the game with a Lucas Reed six-yard run with 3:27 in the first quarter. A little bit later, Tullahoma looked to extend its lead with Reed connecting with senior wide receiver Cayden Poff for a 40-yard touchdown. The T-Town stands erupted, but unfortunately, there was some yellow laundry on the gridiron, bringing the playing back. The Wildcats ended up going empty on that possession.

In the second quarter, with 10:38 on the clock, Tullahoma put themselves in field goal range, and senior kicker Chase Doson split the uprights from 35 yards out with ease. But there again laid a yellow flag on the field, with the call being a false start. Dodson then lined up for a 40-yard attempt, and it was blocked. Chaos ensued on the return, with flags getting tossed left and right, which all eventually summed up to over 25 yards of penalties on Tullahoma. This put Lawrence deep in Tullahoma territory, where RB Carter Pettigrew eventually ran in a one-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

There was a noticeable frustration lingering over the majority of the Tullahoma players’ heads. The mix of making mistakes they know they could avoid, along with several questionable calls thrown in the mix, drained the T-town side. But as they came out in the second half, they looked revamped and seemed to have a new outlook on the game.

On the first play in the second half, the communication on the field between Tullahoma players was noticeably more present. And on that first play, the Lawrence County offense, which ran most of the game, opted to drop back and pass. Senior Sam Bobo had the play read from the start. He picked it off and lit the match of a dominant second half for Tullahoma.

Senior RB Marvancy Johnson Jr., on the following possession, ran in a 22-yard touchdown with 10:23 left in the third quarter, to get Tullahoma a 14-7 lead. Later in the third quarter, with 2:50 remaining, he ran in another 20+ yard touchdown run.

Nobody could stop Johnson Jr. in the second half, except for the officials. That second 20+ yard TD run of Johnson Jr. was called back due to a holding penalty. A play like this deterred the confidence of Tullahoma in the first half, but in the second half, it did not whatsoever. Reed, on the next play after the penalty, threw a beautiful ball that hit senior receiver Alex Bobo in stride for a 33-yard touchdown. This score gave Tullahoma a 21-7 lead in the game.

Lawrence had their opportunities throughout the remainder of the game to get back in the contest, but the Wildcats just made more plays. Lawrence, after scoring another rushing touchdown to make it a 21-14 game, got the ball back with 5:43 in the fourth quarter off a fumble. They then had a chance to tie the game, but the Tullahoma defense stood strong.

After allowing little to no yards in the first two downs, Lawrence, with 2:50 on the clock, went for it on fourth down. Their QB rolled left and tried to hit his receiver close to the sideline, but was off target, which turned the ball back over to Tullahoma.

Johnson Jr. then came on the field and did what he does best—break tackles and score touchdowns. He bullied his way through several Lawrence defenders up the left sideline, and officially put this game out of reach with a 36-yard touchdown run, making the score 28-14 with 2:31 left.

This was a huge bounce-back performance for Tullahoma. That same team that showed up in the second half is the team that helped give them a 3-0 record to start the season. They will look to build off this positive in their game next Friday against an undefeated Lincoln County team.