By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CEDAR BLUFF – The Cedar Bluff Tigers couldn’t ask for a better start to their Class 1A, Region 8 football opener against Ragland on Friday.

On just the second play of the game, Jamison Miller scooted 61 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers an early touchdown lead.

But that didn’t faze the Ragland Purple Devils at all.

They settled in behind junior quarterback Mason Parker, built a three-score halftime advantage, and held off Cedar Bluff by the final of 49-28 on a night the Tigers honored the 20^th anniversary of their 2006 Class 1A state runner-up squad.

“They’re Ragland,” first-year Cedar Bluff coach Cole Murphy said. “They’ve always been physical and tough. They’re not done playing until the end. One score was nothing to them. They responded well and we did not in the first half.”

Parker finished the game completing 9-of-18 pass attempts for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 52 yards on 20 carries with two more scores.

Parker countered the Tigers’ early touchdown with his first of the night of the Purple Devils’ first drive. He accounted for all 72 yards on a 7-play drive, including a 2-yard touchdown run to cap it.

Parker gave Ragland a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter with his 8-yard touchdown connection to Kobe Embry.

Following an interception, Parker and Embry hooked up for a second touchdown – this one from 24 yards – which put the Purple Devils in control at 21-7.

After a Cedar Bluff drive stalled on fourth down near midfield, Parker punched it in from 15 yards just before halftime for a three-touchdown advantage.

Embry opened the second half with a bang for Ragland (1-2, 1-0), taking the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Purple Devils a 35-7 lead. It was the second straight week the Tigers gave up a kickoff return for a score.

But despite the deficit and several costly penalties, the Tigers (1-2, 0-1) didn’t back down.

Following Embry’s kickoff return for a touchdown, it took Cedar Bluff just three plays to score. Jeremiah Miller ran in for a 15-yard score to make it a 35-14 game.

After a Ragland punt, Jamison Miller dashed 56 yards for another Tiger touchdown to pull Cedar Bluff within two scores at 35-21.

Jamison Miller led the Tigers with 214 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns.

Cedar Bluff had a chance to cut the Purple Devil lead even more following another punt, but D’aundray Bothwell killed a Tiger drive by recovering a fumble.

Bothwell put the Purple Devils back up three scores at 42-21 early in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run, but Cedar Bluff still wouldn’t back down. Jamison Miller scored on an 8-yard tun on the Tigers’ ensuing drive to trim Ragland’s lead to 42-28.

Zahlen Kyle stripped the ball away from Ragland’s Kodi Embry to give the Tigers another shot of bringing them closer, but Cedar Bluff’s drive stalled and the Tigers turned it over on downs with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

“We killed our drives,” Murphy said. “We were messing up on our plays. We got unfocused. When you go down three scores in the first half it’s hard to come back.”

Kodi Embry scored on a 24-yard run on the Purple Devils’ ensuing drive for the final.

“We’ve just got to get better at execution,” Murphy said. “We’d get a good play, we’re blocking it up well, then we get a bad snap. We get a good snap and then we don’t block it up well. We call a pass play and then miss our signals. We run a completely different pass play than what we’re supposed to.

“It all falls on me. I’ve got to do a better job of getting the kids prepared.”

Cedar Bluff has a bye next Friday before hosting Valley Head on Sept. 18.