It had happened before that the Cougar football team faced a running clock by halftime; what was different this time was that it was the Cougars who had scored enough to start the clock running continuously by the “mercy” rule.
At Harford last Friday night, the Cougars put 41 points on the board before halftime, which meant that the clock would continue to run the rest of the game. Grayson County possessed the ball seven times in the first half and scored touchdowns on six of them.
The Cougars dominated from the start of play when they moved 68 yards in 10 plays for the first score of the night. Quarterback Noah Bullock only threw the ball twice, completing neither one, but a passing game was not needed on this night.
The Cougars rushed for 260 yards, led by ex-Ohio County Eagle Q’Daryius McHenry, who carried the ball 16 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard romp that was beautiful to behold.
Senior Derrick Ruth carried five times for 44 yards and one score, while Bullock ran six times for 39 yards and two TD’s.
The defense was stifling, allowing the Eagles just 146 total yards, all of them coming on the ground, with 122 of those yards coming in the second half against the Cougars’ second-team defense.
Sophomore Zach Bratcher and senior Ethan Cates led the team with six tackles each, with Cates having three tackles for a loss. The defense also recovered three Eagle fumbles.
Grayson County started swiftly, moving easily down the field on its first possession 68 yards in 10 plays. Bullock carried in from the five to put the Cougars on top 7-0 at the 8:34 mark.
The Cougar defense forced a punt on the Eagle’s first possession deep in their own territory. Harris muffed the punt, but fell on the ball at the Eagle 23-yard line. Five plays later, McHenry bulled in from the seven to make it 14-0 at the 4:38 mark.
The Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession and punted again. This time Harris fielded the ball cleanly and started around the left side. Finding his way blocked, he reversed his field and found the right sideline wide open and he carried untouched for the score.
There was a flag on the play and Cougar fans were sure the ball would be brought back, but the officials called a personal foul on the Eagles and the touchdown stood. The Eagles blocked the extra point, but with 2:33 left in the first quarter, the Cougars led 20-0.
On a third-and-eight play just before the end of the first period, the Eagles fumbled the ball and Harris recovered it at the Ohio 31. Five plays later the Cougars were in the end zone again, this time with Ruth carrying in from 16-yards out, and at the 10:36 mark of the second period Grayson County led 27-0.
The Eagles a had a little success on their next possession, gaining their first first-down against the Cougar defense. But the drive stalled and when quarterback Ben Wood gained just three yards on a fourth-and-seven, the Cougars took over at midfield.
On first down, Bullock gave the ball to McHenry, who quickly dashed through an opening in the line and found clear sailing. As the defensive secondary closed in looking for the tackle, McHenry made a quick cut outside and again found himself in the clear and he took it the distance for his second touchdown. With 7:32 left in the half, the Cougars led 34-0.
The Cougars still weren’t done, though. After forcing another Eagle punt, the Cougars moved 25 yards in five plays to score their final touchdown. Bullock carried in from five yards out and Logan Raymer’s extra point made it 41-0 with 1:24 left in the half and the clock started running.
The Eagles had two long drives against the JV defense in the second half, but the young Cougars made them work for them. The first drive covered 60 yards, took 12 plays and absorbed more then eight precious minutes off the clock. The second drive was eight plays and took more than five minutes.
The Cougars will be put to a test this week when the South Warren Spartans, who come in at 4-0 and ranked highly in the state. Game time at Cougar Field will be 7 p.m.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
