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Tullahoma dominated Lincoln County 39-14 Friday night in Fayetteville to claim their first region victory on the season.

The Wildcats won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, so the Falcons got the ball first and went three and out. The punt rolled out of bounds at the Tullahoma 47-yard line. The first offensive play for the ‘Cats was a deep pass from Mason Bratcher to Jalen Hill on a seam route. Hill caught the ball over the shoulder and outran the defender closest to him all the way to the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown. Grant Chadwick knocked the point after kick through the uprights to make it 7-0 Tullahoma with 11:03 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats defense again got off the field in three plays, this time because Will Hyden intercepted a pass over the middle on third and 10. Tullahoma took over at the Lincoln County 34. Ryan Denby carried up the middle for a gain of 5 yards. Then Bratcher threw a pass right to Bryson Steverson that was tipped, but caught by Malik Grizard for a gain of 8 yards and a first down. On second and 12 a quick pass to Liam Grider got the ball to the 8-yard line and picked up another first down. Denby ran for a gain of 2, followed by a 5 yard run getting the ball to the 1. Then he carried up middle to get into the end zone. The point after try was no good, so the lead was 13-0 with 6:22 left in the opening quarter.

Russell Simmons made a tackle for a 3-yard loss to being the next drive. On third and 13, the Falcons completed a pass left to the 31 for a first down. Colby Tuck made a tackle for no gain on first down. A quick pass gained 3, then a pass down the field on a post route got the ball to the Tullahoma 40-yard line and gave Lincoln County another first down. Tucker made a tackle on the running back for a loss of 4. On third and 14 the completed a pass left to a receiver on a corner route to get the ball to the 19 and pick up a first down. A second down pass right to move the ball to the 8. Back-to-back runs up the middle punched the ball into the end zone. The kick was good, making it 13-7 with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter.

The kickoff was a pooch kick that was caught by Hill and he returned it to the Lincoln County 47. Marvancy Johnson ran the ball to the 17 on first down. A screen out wide to Alex Bobo picked up a first at the 6-yard line. Johnson ran again to the 1, then he received another carry and fought his way into the end zone through a couple of Falcons defenders. The kick was no good, so Tullahoma was up 19-7 with 21 seconds left in the quarter.

The last play of the quarter was a run for a loss of 1 yard, with Bobo and other ‘Cats making the stop. On second and 2, Ezra Myers and Tucker, made a tackle for no gain to force a third and 2. The third down run gained two before Hyden made the tackle. Lincoln County took a timeout LC. They ran a quarterback keeper on fourth and 1, but Tucker was not fooled and made the stop to for a turnover on downs. After an incomplete pass on the deep shot to Hill on a seam again, Bratcher threw the ball to Aiden Kelly who got the ball to the 28-yard line for a first down. Bratcher went to Kelly again on the next play for a gain of 2. A tunnel screen to Bobo picked up 4. The third down pass was incomplete, so Chadwick and the field goal unit trotted out top attempt a 38-yard try. The kick was right down the middle giving them a 22-7 lead with 7:31 remaining in the first half. The Falcons opened their drive with a quick pass to gain 10 and pick up a first down. Tucker made a huge tackle for a loss of 3 yards on the next play, sniffing out the jet sweep pass. Tucker had another tackle on second down for a gain of nothing. Then Hyden got his second interception of the game on a pass over middle. The Wildcats took over at the Falcons’ 38-yard line. A swing screen to Grider gained 12 yards. Then a pass right to Hyden picked up another first down at the 15-yard line. That is where the drive stalled, so on fourth and 8 Chadwick and the kicking unit came out for a 30 yard field goal. The kick was good, making it 25-7 with 2:49 left in the second quarter. Lincoln County gained 14 yards on the first play on a screen right. On second and 9 Matthew Swiger sacked the quarterback for a loss of 4. A pass deep on the next play got the ball all the way down to the Tullahoma 2-yard line. Hyden made a tackle to keep the Falcons at the 2 on first down, then Tucker did the same thing on second down. Lincoln County called a timeout with 14 seconds left. They threw a pass left to an out route in the end zone, but Grider jumped it and intercepted the ball. He outran everyone for a pick six as time expired to give the Wildcats a 32-7 lead after the extra point.

“It wore him out and wore me out too,” head coach Coy Sisk said “I caught him at about the 20 there and ran all the way with him. Real proud that’s happening and that is the mentality we try to instill and teach, is ‘look we are never giving up.’ Every play can result in what we want on defense and that is turnovers.”

The Falcons came out of the half with a squib kick, Bronson Bunch recovered the ball and returned it to the 29. A holding flag and three incomplete passes led to a three and out for the ‘Cats. Chadwick’s punt rolled out of bounds at the 46. Decarlos Slaughter made a stop for no gain on first down. After an incomplete pass, Hill sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble that was recovered by one of his teammates at the 46-yard line. Johnson ran left to the Lincoln County 44 for a first down. A jet sweep pass to Bobo gained 6 yards before he was hit hard. Beau Banks carried the ball to the 33, after the play there was offsetting personal fouls so it still resulted in a Wildcats first down. Banks ran again for 2 yards. After a false start and incomplete pass Bratcher went deep to the end zone looking for Hyden, but the pass was incomplete. The Falcons were called for a defensive pass interference to give Tullahoma an automatic first down at the 21-yard line. On third and 8 the snap was fumbled, but6 Bratcher picked the ball up and ran for a gain of 10 and a first down at the 8. Jakoby Hill ran right and got into the end zone. Hailey Prebola kicked the extra point through the uprights making the score 39-7 with 5:00 left in the third. The Lincoln County offense moved the ball to the 47 on a pass, before Myers picked up a sack and forced fumble to end the drive three plays later. The fumble was recovered at the Falcons’ 48-yard line. The Wildcats put in backup quarterback Lucas Reed, his first pass was tipped up into the air and caught by a Lincoln County Defender and returned for a touchdown to make it 39-14 with 11:13 left in the game.

They once again squib kicked the ball, this time Steverson caught it and returned the ball to the 48. Tullahoma went three and out. Chadwick’s punt went out of bounds at the Lincoln County 20. With 9:53 left in game, the Falcons put some backups in as well. Their backup QB ran for a gain of 23 on the first play, but a holding flag brought the ball back to the 20. A short run on second down was helped by a facemask penalty giving Lincoln County a first down at the 37. After picking up another first down, Simmons sacked the QB back at the 39 for a loss of 8 yards. On fourth and 7 the pass over the middle was broken up by Eli Bergert. After another three and out Chadwick punted again. This one was downed at the Falcons’ 2-yard line with 3:01 remaining in the game. Lincoln County moved the ball into Tullahoma territory, but could not score before the game ended. Tullahoma grabbed their first region win on the road 39-14.

“Tonight was big for me, because that 1993 state championship team up there (on the scoreboard), I’m on that team. Being able to come back here as a head coach and be at my Alma Mater and bring home a W, a solid W. It was real important and I think the guys kind of got behind that a little bit and like I said ‘I’m just proud tonight.’ We didn’t do everything perfect but we’re always striving for better.” said Sisk

The Wildcats are back at home this Friday facing Columbia for their Homecoming game. The Lions are coming off of a 31-0 beat down of Lawrence County. Both teams are 1-1 in the region and looking to move up to second place in the region with the two undefeated teams playing each other this week. 

Sisk said the team needs a great week of preparation with Columbia coming in Friday for another region game with the atmosphere from Homecoming. He claimed the team is concentrating on right now is staying focused and getting their job done.