White: Plenty to build on after Raiders’ first two weeks

After a 1-1 start, Moore County coach Kris White talks multiple options, O-line, and Friday’s test at Goodpasture

12:26 p.m. Aug. 30, 2026 • Updated 7:07 p.m. Aug. 30, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

There is no sugarcoating 35-0, and Kris White is not trying to. Class 3A Cascade hit Moore County with big plays, turned Raider mistakes into points, and sent the Raiders home from Wartrace with their first loss of the season. A week earlier, Moore County had opened with a 27-7 win over Community, leaving White’s team at 1-1 after two very different Friday nights.

White, though, is looking well beyond the scoreboard. He sees freshmen learning under Friday-night lights, veterans finding new ways to help, and an offensive line beginning to take on a personality of its own. More than anything, he sees a group willing to show up and work.

“This group’s a lot like last year’s group,” White said. “They’re gonna show up, work hard, play hard. That’s what you got.”

Multiple options on offense

It is easier to preach patience when the football can go almost anywhere. Nine Raiders have already touched it on offense, with Tucker Smith carrying much of the load on the ground, Drew Hardison contributing in the backfield, Paxson Embrey showing flashes as a freshman, Memphis Foster returning to football after not playing since eighth grade, and Kason Ferrera and Jose Garcia giving QB Austin Scherff big targets outside.

Caseon Casteel has gotten White’s attention, too. “Casteel’s special,” he said.

White likes the talent, but he may like the approach even more. Casteel does not fool around in the classroom, weight room, or at practice, and he plays with enough abandon that White has to be careful how much he asks of him defensively.

He is too valuable on offense and special teams to wear down early. White also believes a big return is coming. “I think he’s going to break one this year,” he said.

The big fellas set the tone

Quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers get their names in the box score, but football still starts up front. White believes Moore County’s offensive line has taken a noticeable step forward, and he points to both experience and the work of assistant coach Corey Searcy.

“Coach Searcy’s done a heck of a job with them,” White said.

Searcy worked the linemen hard through June – hard enough that White decided one day the skill players needed a taste of life in the trenches. He sent them with Searcy while the linemen came over to run routes and catch passes.

The linemen got to have a little fun. The skill players got themselves an education. “After it was over, those skill kids thanked those offensive linemen,” White said. “They said, ‘We don’t want to ever go through that again. We appreciate what y’all do.’”

That work has helped turn a handful of linemen into a unit. Searcy has pushed the family side of it, while the weekly pancake recognition with Woodards has added a little competition and given some attention to the fellows doing football’s least glamorous work.

“Collectively, as a whole, I’m not sure this isn’t our best unit,” White said. “There’s something different about this group. They embrace that lineman mentality.”

The door stayed open

Kohlby Williams is back with the Raiders after stepping away while dealing with responsibilities outside football. Some teammates who had spent the summer grinding through workouts were not sure how they felt about his return, and White understood why. He also knew Williams’ circumstances were different.

“Each individual situation in life is different,” White said.

White had told Williams months earlier that there would be plenty of years ahead for work and grown-up responsibilities. There are only so many Friday nights, though, and he left the door open.

Williams came back, and White said the locker room responded the way he expected. “It has been a boost,” White said. “His attitude’s great. The kids have taken him back in like we knew they would.”

Goodpasture waits

Now comes Goodpasture, another step up in competition and another difficult Friday. Finding opponents plays a part in Moore County’s nonregion schedule, but White also wants the hard road.

“I do like playing tougher opponents early,” he said.

There is a price to that approach. Teenagers see the scoreboard, parents see it, and nobody loads a bus on Friday afternoon hoping to come home with a valuable lesson instead of a win.

White wants to win, too. He simply wants the lessons learned early to pay off when the games carry more weight. “Let’s get better,” he said. “Let’s win the ones that count.”

White knows Goodpasture has athletes and that Moore County will be challenged. Spending all week worrying about everything the Cougars can do, though, will not make the Raiders any better.

Goodpasture, which plays Division II, Class AA, Middle Region, is 2-0 and has outscored opponents 87-0 – a season-opening whitewash of Glencliff (49-0) and a 38-0 thrashing of Maplewood.

Last year, a promising opening drive wasn’t enough to slow a powerful Goodpasture squad as Moore County fell, 60-7 It was the Raiders' first game with Isaac Petty under center after the injury to Gavin Wise the previous week.

“I want us to work hard this week in practice, get better on what we can control, and just worry about us,” White said. “Go out there and play the best we can, give it our best shot, and get better next week.”

One Friday showed what the Raiders can do when things click; the next showed what still needs fixing. Goodpasture gets the next say.