Friday night was a tale of two halves. The Coffee Trojans held on to a fragile 10-6 lead over the Columbia County (Lake City, Fla.) Tigers at halftime. When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Trojans came away with a 40-13 win, thanks in large part to two defensive touchdowns and a safety in the fourth quarter.
“We have to find the identity of this team. We’ll get Tyrese Hansley back after this open week. That will give us a bruiser right there to help [Tyrese] Woodgett and [KJ] Debruce. I was proud of our second half. I thought our defense, like always, played lights out. Our special teams did a really good job. I’d be dumb if I didn’t mention my son [Bray Coe]. It’s not where I want him to be. He’s not very big. But I can tell you what – he’s a gamer. He’s tough as nails. He loves football and he loves his teammates,” said head coach Mike Coe following the game.
Bray Coe stepped in under center to lead the Coffee offense on the Trojans’ third possession of the game after the Tigers picked off a pass on third and 10 and ran it in for a touchdown. However, officials threw a flag for too many men on the field. That nullified the pick and when the offense came back out, Coe made his first appearance of the year at quarterback. Coffee’s drive stalled at the Columbia 26, which led to a 43-yard field goal by Jonah Saylor to put the Trojans up 3-0. The field goal came on the first play of the second quarter.
The Tigers were unimpressed. Nine seconds later, Columbia receiver Kyren Caldwell and quarterback Zamarion Jones connected for a 65-yard touchdown. The Tigers missed the extra point but held a 6-3 lead with 11:46 remaining in the second quarter.
A big return by Woodgett on the ensuing kick gave Coffee the ball at the Columbia 33-yard line. The drive ended with Coe scoring on an eight-yard keeper to give the Trojans a 10-6 advantage with 7:40 left in the half.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the second quarter and a bewildered Coffee team headed into the locker room with a lead – but one that seemed insecure at best.
The Trojans took the kick to open the third quarter. Their first drive ended in a punt. The Tigers followed suit with a punt of their own. Then Coffee struck again. Coe led his team on a 63-yard drive fueled by a 25-yard Zean Preston reception and a 13-yard keeper from Coe. Woodgett did the rest, finally bringing the march to an end with a 12-yard touchdown run. With 2:17 left in the third quarter, the Trojans had built a 17-6 lead.
Once again, though, the Tigers answered. Jerome Horne returned Saylor’s kick to the Coffee 30. Then Jones kept the ball himself and scored to narrow Coffee’s lead to four. Just 30 seconds after the Trojans had pulled ahead by 11, the Tigers trailed 17-13.
And that is as close as they would get.
Woodgett took a page out of Horne’s book and returned Columbia’s kick to the Tigers’ 22-yard line. The Trojans ran a few plays then a big facemask penalty propelled Coffee to the Columbia 11. The Trojans inched their way to the end zone then Woodgett scored his second touchdown of the night on a two-yard dive with 10:23 left in the game. The score was now 24-13 Coffee.
The vaunted Trojan defense, which had controlled the game all night, finally unleased all its fury on the Tigers. Coffee linebacker Jyarius Carter recovered a fumble on the first play of Columbia’s next possession and took it into the end zone for a touchdown (that play is featured in the video at the top of this story). On the Tigers’ following possession, Coffee forced a punt. The snap sailed over the punter’s head and he recovered the ball in his own end zone for a safety. Leading 33-13, Coffee couldn’t do anything after the Tigers kicked off and punted. Then Jai’mir Morton intercepted a pass and ran it in for a score. A holding call on the return brought the ball out to the Columbia 36. The drive didn’t go anywhere and Saylor trotted on to the field for a 49-yard field goal attempt. He had the line but the ball fell just short.
The missed field goal gave the Tigers the ball at their own 20. They didn’t have the ball for long; linebacker Mykevius Smith quickly intercepted another Columbia pass for a pick six. This time, there were no flags and the touchdown stood. Smith’s score put Coffee ahead 40-13 with 2:56 left in the game. And that is how the game ended.
The win is Coffee’s 18th in a row and third this season. The Trojans are open this week but return to action against Gadsen County (Havana, Fla.) on September 13 for Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.