Handling emotions in a stressful situation can be tough for even the strongest of mind. For a teenager, handling emotions can be nearly impossible.
Tyner football coach Christian Mainor admitted to that point after Friday’s season opener at Silverdale Baptist Academy.
Mainor’s Rams kept coming up short on offense and had turned over the ball three times though the first three quarters against the Seahawks, who used the turnovers and momentum given to them to build a 27-13 lead.
Turns out, they were just where the Rams wanted them.
Tyner quarterback Tyler Anderson accounted for more than 400 yards of offense and led his team to a last-minute rally to steal the win, 28-27.
“We just kept saying we were one play away here or there,” Mainor said. “We were down inside the 10- or 15-yard line twice and didn’t come away with points.”
“We play good in spurts. We played good in the fourth quarter on offense and played really good in the first three quarters on defense. If we can really put a full game together, I’m excited to see what that’ll look like.”
Tyner at Silverdale Baptist football on Aug. 22, 2025
Anderson put his team on his back from the beginning, accounting for 163 (93 rushing, 60 passing) of his team’s 181 yards of offense in the first half, but it was his decisions at the end and his perseverance that made the difference.
After Zion Pinkerton was able to come up with an onside kick recovery, Anderson hit three different wide receivers and ran the ball three times to get the ball to the Silverdale 11-yard line.
After splitting defenders to score his first rushing touchdown of the season with 50.6 seconds left in the game, he rolled right, avoided a defender and connected with junior Gerard Allen for the winning 2-point conversion.
“No doubts,” Anderson said of Allen’s only catch of the game. “Why would I doubt my team?”
Mainor admitted the play was a bit of redemption after coming up short on a 2-point conversion last year and losing to Rhea County in overtime, even if it wasn’t the play he had intended his team to execute.
“We weren’t trying to get him the ball,” Mainor said of Allen. It was a play where we were trying to run inside zone and get the ball out to (Nashawn Keel), and (Tyler) did a great job.”
Mainor also said he learned a lot about his team.
“They’re very resilient,” he said. “They’ve proved me wrong. We’ve shown in the past we cower down when things don’t go well, and I’m really, really happy to see what they did for us and for each other. They just continue to fight.
“It really makes me emotional thinking about it. If you stay positive, if you build your teammates up through tough times, good things will happen.”
Silverdale, which reached the TSSAA Division II-AA quarterfinals last year, was efficient and bruising for three quarters. The Seahawks kept pushing the ball down field with running backs Dylan Cooper and Tate Standefer. The two combined for 93 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.
The hosts had a chance at the end to win. Connor Jenne’s pass on the final play was tipped but caught by teammate Cannon Rodgers at the Tyner 10, but he could not wiggle out of a tackle as time expired.
Next week doesn’t get any easier for the Seahawks, who will travel to perennial Class 1A power South Pittsburg.
The Rams will travel to Chattanooga Christian.
Contact Robert Holder at sports@timesfreepress.com.