By Noah McKay
The Macon County Tigers faced off against Portland and East Robertson in a three-team scrimmage on Friday night in Portland. The format saw each team’s varsity offense and defense face every other team’s units in 10-minute increments across two hours.
“It was a lot of really good work,” said MCHS head coach Kyle Shoulders. “I enjoyed our time here tonight. It was a physical scrimmage in all aspects. We platoon a lot on offense and defense so it got our guys a lot of consecutive reps which is important.”
The Tiger offense opened the scrimmage against the East Robertson defense. The Indians, who were runners-up in Class 2A in 2023, saw Gabe Borders get loose for a 23-yard run on fourth down on an opening drive that was capped by a one-yard touchdown by Braylon Flowers. The opening period ended with an incompletion on third down of the second drive.
The next action for MCHS saw the defense face Portland. The Tigers recovered a fumbled snap and added a sack as they held the Panthers scoreless.
Reigning Class 2A Mr. Football Isaiah Groves scored on a touchdown rush against the Tigers’ defense before MCHS forced a turnover on downs.
In the final standard session, Gabe Borders added two catches for 44 yards against the Portland defense.
“I felt like the physicality was there for the most part,” said Shoulders. “I was pleased with it overall. It’s never as good as you think it is and it’s never as bad when you watch film.”
The Tigers will travel to Murfreesboro at Oakland High School on Friday for their jamboree before turning their attention towards the regular season opener against rival Westmoreland. The game, set for Saturday, August 24, is part of a UCR High School Football Game of the Week doubleheader and will be streamed live on the Watson Chevrolet UCR Media Network.
“The last few teams we’ve been mainly focused on the primary guys, the starters,” said Shoulders. “This year, up to the last few days we’ve been running three units. This team’s got maturity and experience. I feel like we’re where we want to be right now from an alignment and assignment standpoint.”
