Big plays sink Raiders in 27-14 loss

Battle Creek used four explosive touchdowns to beat Moore County on Friday night, dropping the Raiders to 1-3

9:47 p.m. Sept. 11, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Moore County drove nearly the length of the field on its first possession Friday night and reached the Battle Creek 2-yard line.

The Raiders never got the last yard.

Two plays after Battle Creek stopped Austin Scherff at the 1, Gavin Pelkey broke loose for a 93-yard touchdown. Moore County went from being a step away from taking the lead to chasing seven points, and that sequence hung over most of the night. Battle Creek went on to win 27-14.

The Raiders fell to 1-3. Class 4A Battle Creek, which came in winless – including a one-point overtime loss in Week 1 – also moved to 1-3. The record was a little misleading. The Grizzlies had been averaging almost 30 points a game, and they did not need many snaps Friday to show why.

A yard short, then 93 the other way

Moore County moved the ball from the start.

Scherff scrambled for an early first down, hit Ike Holt for a big gain into Battle Creek territory, and Drew Hardison rumbled to the 2. Hardison was dropped on consecutive plays, a holding penalty pushed the Raiders farther back, and Scherff scrambled to the 5 to give Moore County one last shot.

On fourth down, he went around the left side and was stopped at the 1.

Jaxon Voorhies picked up 6 yards on Battle Creek’s first snap after the stop. Pelkey took the next one 93 yards.

Just like that, it was 7-0.

Battle Creek hit another long one late in the first quarter when Brodie Orton found Stanley Williams Jr. for a 48-yard touchdown. Moore County answered by driving back into Grizzlies territory, but a personal foul and a sack wrecked the possession. Second-and-8 at the Battle Creek 27 eventually became third-and-34 back on Moore County’s side of midfield.

Orton and C.J. Knaggs connected for 51 yards late in the second quarter, giving Battle Creek a 20-0 halftime lead after the extra point missed.

Ten seconds into the half

Moore County barely had time to get settled before the game tilted again.

Williams took it 92 yards for a touchdown. Ten seconds into the third quarter, Battle Creek led 27-0, and that was the last time the Grizzlies scored.

Moore County finally finished a drive later in the quarter. Scherff escaped on third-and-9 and found Aidan Moore for a first down, then hit Hardison for 40 yards to the Battle Creek 5. Hardison carried it to the 3, and Scherff kept it on the next snap for the touchdown. Jax Ross made the extra point, cutting the lead to 27-7 with 7:18 left in the third.

Moore County stopped Battle Creek on fourth-and-1, then Memphis Foster intercepted Orton later in the period. A horse-collar penalty put the Raiders at the Grizzlies’ 28.

Scherff found Foster down to the 12, then Westin Byrom at the 3. On third-and-1, Scherff scrambled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the half. The extra point made it 27-14 with 1:44 remaining.

Moore County tried the onside kick, but Battle Creek recovered and ran out the clock.

Battle Creek’s four touchdowns covered 93, 48, 51, and 92 yards. Moore County spent the second half clawing back into it, but those four big plays had already done the damage.

The Raiders head to Huntland on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.