Generals blast past RCHS

The Randolph County Tigers suffered a tough loss to region foe Horseshoe Bend on the road Friday night, 56-36.

Randolph County was plagued by turnovers in the loss, losing 4-of-8 fumbles and throwing two interceptions.

“We just had too many turnovers to win,” Randolph County head coach Rick Coleman said. “We had opportunities to go ahead and we couldn’t drive it in and score. It was a very winnable game for us.”

The Tigers went toe-to-toe offensively with the explosive Generals, with Randolph County racking up 430 total yards on offense and Horseshoe Bend gaining a total of 442 yards of offense.

However, the offensive production was overshadowed by the huge turnover margin.

“We still made a lot of mistakes,” Coleman said. “We had one touchdown called back. Our pass blocking was not good. We have to improve on that.”

Horseshoe Bend got the ball rolling with a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:23 left in the first quarter. The point after was no good.

The Generals added another score with 6:51 left in the first quarter on a 53-yard touchdown run. They converted the 2-point try, giving them a 14-0 lead.

Randolph County got on the board early in the second quarter when Dwayne Childs ran in a touchdown from 2 yards out. Austin McGuiness nailed the extra point, closing the gap to a 14-7 General lead.

Horseshoe Bend fired back with 9:04 left in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run, giving them a 20-7 lead.

Childs struck again though, this time on a 15-yard touchdown run with 6:15 left in the second quarter. McGuiness made the score 20-14.

With 0:46 left in the second quarter, Horseshoe Bend added another score on a 1-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion gave the Generals a 28-14 lead at the half.

The Generals added another score to the total with 6:58 left in the third quarter on a 22-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point try succeeded, giving Horseshoe Bend a 35-14 lead.

At the 2:59 mark of the third quarter, quarterback Drew Benefield found an open Childs for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The point after made the score 35-21.

Randolph County brought the game closer when Childs found daylight on a 52-yard touchdown run with time expiring in the third quarter. With the point after, the Generals held a 35-28 lead.

The Generals rolled off two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter before the Tigers could answer though, giving Horseshoe Bend a 49-28 lead.

Randolph County’s final score came on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Benefield to Roshun Pyant with 1:53 left to play. Childs was successful on the 2-point try to make the score 49-36.

But the Generals intercepted a Randolph County pass and returned it for a touchdown, putting the game well out of reach for the Tigers with 1:43 left on the clock.

“We had a tough time stopping them,” Coleman said. “We missed a lot of tackles.”

With Randolph County’s region record sitting at 2-2 and with three of the toughest games of the year ahead, Coleman said it won’t be easy to get into the playoff picture. Randolph County hosts Woodland this week, travels to Lineville the week after and finishes the region schedule with a home date against Lanett.

“We have to win two out of those three games to make the playoffs and that’s a tall task,” Coleman said. “All of those teams were playoff teams last year.”

But the task begins with Woodland this week.

“I know this is a big rivalry game, so playing it at home may be somewhat of an advantage,” Coleman said. “We’re going to have to play better defense to beat anybody and they’re (Woodland) a quality offensive team. We have to execute and stop shooting ourselves in the foot.”