CEDAR BLUFF – The Cedar Bluff Tigers welcomed head football coach Jonathan McWhorter back to their sideline and continued to roll with a 47-20 victory over Class 1A, Region 7 opponent Coosa Christian on Friday.
McWhorter returned from quarantine with COVID-19 on Thursday.
“It’s definitely good to be back at school and with the guys,” he said. “I want to say how proud I am of the assistant coaches and the men they are and the jobs they do every day, not just what they’ve done in the past two weeks. I would’ve been very disappointed if this whole thing fell apart without me. That’s never been the case. It’s never been a one-man show. I’m very proud of them and very proud of the kids and how they responded last week and even this week.
“I was only able to come back to school and to practice yesterday (Thursday), so the game plan was already in. They’ve basically taken that on and kept our program moving the past two weeks. I’m just real proud of everybody in my absence.”
Cedar Bluff (5-4, 5-1) built a 27-0 lead and led 34-13 at halftime. Anbre Leek got the Tigers on the scoreboard first with his 37-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Nick Clifton added a 2-yard scoring run and booted the ensuing extra point for a 13-0 lead. Leek added a 10-yard touchdown run to open the second-quarter scoring, putting the Tigers up 20-0. A Jacob Burleson-to-Kade Browning 45-yard touchdown pass pushed Cedar Bluff’s lead to 27-0.
The Conquerors (2-7, 0-6) finally got on the scoreboard with Isiah Cole’s 5-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good, keeping the score at 27-6.
Burleson connected with Bucky Leek on a 36-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 34-6 edge. Evan Delp took the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown for the Conquerors to make the score 34-13 at halftime.
Clifton scored again on a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Coosa countered with a 15-yard Thomas Skaggs-to-Cole scoring connection, making the score 40-20 heading into the fourth quarter.
Preston Burt capped the scoring with his 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth for the final.
Defensively, Burleson picked off a pair of passes for the Tigers. Burt also had an interception.
Cedar Bluff closes out its regular season at Sand Rock on Friday. The Tigers will host Hubbertville to open the state playoffs on Nov. 6.