Grayson County’s Cougar football team put together a 12-play, 47-yard drive in the fourth quarter Friday night at Cougar Field to avoid a shutout against the powerful Allen County-Scottsville Patriots in a 46-7 loss. The Cougars fell to 1-5 with the loss while the Patriots moved to 5-1.
With the clock moving continuously by the KHSAA mercy rule, the Cougars took over at the start of the fourth quarter and moved methodically down the field behind the field generalship of sophomore quarterback Hunter Gibson. The key play of the drive came as the Cougars faced a third-and-12 at the 27-yard line. Gibson then connected with junior split end Cameron Harris for a first down at the 18.
Three plays later, sophomore Logan Sailing carried over from a yard out to put the Cougars on the board with 4:15 remaining to be played.
The Patriots had long since put the game beyond the Cougars’ reach, scoring three times in the first quarter, then adding three more TDs in the second period to lead 40-0 at the half.
If you believe in omens, you only had to witness the game’s first 12 seconds to discover it would be a long night for the Cougars, whose sidelines looked like a MASH unit with all the people on crutches and wearing leg braces. Junior Kelly Weger fielded the Cougars’ opening kickoff at the 24-yard line and raced down the right sideline 76 yards for the game’s first score. The extra-point try failed, but the Patriots led 6-0 at the 11:48 mark.
In the first half, the Cougars failed to move the ball on their six possessions, finishing the first half with negative yardage.
Using a good combination of running and passing, the Patriots moved 70 yards in eight plays to take a 13-0 lead following Brock Meador’s five yard burst at the 3:58 mark. Later, senior quarterback Chase Wilson hooked up with wide receiver Jacob Lightfoot on a 1-play touchdown drive covering 67 yards that gave the Patriots a 20-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Weger scored his second touchdown of the evening on the Patriot’s next possession. The visitors moved 76 yards in under a minute, with Weger running it in from the seven to put his team in front 27-0 with 10:32 remaining in the first half.
Wilson later hit Cayden Ross with a 22-7ard touchdown pass to cap a 55-yard Patriot drive with 3:31 left. The Cougars blocked the ensuing extra-point try, making it 33-0 and the clock began running continuously at that point.
Allen County was not through scoring in the first half. Following a Cougar punt deep in their own territory, the Patriots took over at the Cougar 33 and moved in for another TD in just four plays. Weger took it in from 16 yards out for his third and final score of the night to give his team a 40-0 lead at the break.
With the Patriot subs in on defense at the start of the third quarter, the Cougars began moving the ball. Behind some powerful running by senior Evan Embry, the Cougars moved from their own twenty, out to near midfield. Embry was injured following a seven-yard run to the Cougar 49 and had to leave the game.
Grayson County then moved into Patriot territory for the first time after Sailing carried three yards to the Patriot 49, but on the next play, the Cougars fumbled a handoff. Junior cornerback Yancy Gardner scooped up the loose ball and raced 45 yards for the Patriots final score of the night, making it 46-0.
The road does not get any easier for the Cougars as they will take on the mighty Bowling Green Purples (4-2), 49-19 winners over district rival Greenwood Friday night. That game is set for 7 p.m. at Cougar Field on Thursday, Sep. 28.
By Don Brown
Contact Don at donbrown@k105.com or 270-259-6000
