In a dominating performance at a rainy and windy Cougar Field last Friday, the Graves County Eagles handed the Cougars their first loss of the season, 21-10.
The Eagles gave up an early Cougar touchdown on a 25-yard interception return on the second play of the game, but after that they shut down the Cougar running game completely.
Grayson County ran the ball 33 times and gained just 79 yards. Quarterback Logan Kopp led the Cougars with 33 yards on seven carries.
The Eagles, who came into the game with a pass-heavy offense, had to go to the ground game because of the miserable conditions, but did not suffer from the rain and wind. They accumulated 286 yards on the ground, led by Clint McKee’s 167 yards and one touchdown, and Cody Goatley’s 114 yards with another score.
The Cougars got the first break of the game when Eagle quarterback John Brown, who had entered the game with over 1,200 yards passing in six games, threw a ball on second down which was picked off by Zach Bratcher and returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Logan Raymer’s extra point gave the Cougars an early 7-0 lead just seconds into the game.
Sticking to the ground after that, the Eagles moved from their own 38-yard line down to the Cougar 12, where they gave the ball back to the Cougars on downs.
Grayson County was unable to move the ball and were forced to punt. The punt was blocked and Goatley recovered the ball at the 16 and returned it for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:29 left in the first period.
The Cougars went three-and-out on their next possession and punted the ball with the Eagles taking over at their own six-yard line. The Eagles then began to methodically move the ball down the field. They ran 7:14 off the cklock and took 13 plays to cover the 94 yards for their second touchdown. Goatley ran the final 29 yards for the score which put the Eagles up 14-7
Neither team did much after that. The Eagles were in punt formation at their own 29 when the snap was high and the Cougars took over at the 17 with 1:21 left in the first half. They could move just six yards and Raymer entered the game to try a 28-yard field goal. Raymer’s kick was a low line drive that just cleared the cross-bar to make the score at the half 14-10.
Neither team would score in the third quarter. The Eagles took over possession at the 11:52 mark of the fourth quarter and put together a 45-yard drive in seven plays, with McKee carrying in from the 11 to make it 21-10. And that was it for the scoring.
The Cougars (6-1) will play their final home game this coming Friday when they host the Ohio County Eagles (2-5). That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
