The seventh seeded Patrick County High Cougars traveled to the second seed, Radford Bobcats, for the opening round of the Region 2C playoffs on November 15. After a hard fought, physical game, it was the defending state champion Bobcats that moved on with a 34-14 win.
The Cougars took the opening kickoff and were moving the ball on the ground before a Radford defender stripped the ball loose and recovered the fumble. The Bobcats took advantage of the turnover with a touchdown with 5:04 to go in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead.
Once again, the Cougars moved the ball downfield, helped by a successful 4th and 3 conversions. Their drive stalled, forcing a field goal attempt. A low snap caused a short kick, turning the ball over to the Bobcats on downs.
The Cougar defense was solid, stopping the Bobcats on their next two drives. The Cougars had to punt late in the second quarter. A Radford player got a piece of the kick, deflecting it out of bounds and giving Radford the ball on the Cougar’s 33-yard line. Taking advantage of the short field, Radford reached the end zone with :49 to go and would take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
But for a few plays going the Bobcat’s way, the score could have been much closer at half time.
“We had a feeling coming out for the second half that it should have been a seven nothing ball game,” said Cougar head coach David Morrison. “We had the feeling that we’re still in this game and our boys weren’t going to give up.”
The Bobcats received the second half kickoff and moved the ball across midfield before the Cougar defense stiffened and forced a Bobcat 43-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 17-0. Five minutes later the Bobcats scored on a 60-yard punt return, for a 24-0 lead with 5:16 to go in the third quarter.
The Cougars got on the board with 3:49 to go in the third quarter when, behind great blocking, Easton Harris sprinted 74 yards for the touchdown. A questionable illegal procedure call negated a 2-point conversion attempt, making the score 24-6.
Following a Bobcat field goal, the Cougar offense took over. Quarterback Avone Kidd rushed 44-yards to the end zone for the touchdown. On the extra point attempt, a low snap got past the holder and kicker Erick Martinez-Tejada scooped up the ball, rolling out to the right and tossing a pass to Glenn Stovall in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. With 10:56 to go in the game, the Cougars had closed to 27-14.
“That was a very heady play by Erick,” said Morrison. “You practice stuff like that all year, and you hope if that happens that they’ll be able to execute it. He did a great job.”
A late Bobcat touchdown put them up 34-14.
“It was a tough loss,” said Morrison. “You come into these games knowing that you’re the seven seed, and they’re the two seed. They’re the two seed for a reason because they’re explosive, they’ve got athletes all over the field and they’re a very tough team to play.”
Morrison was proud of his team’s effort and never-give-up attitude. “Even when we were down, we knew all we had to do was stay patient, keep grinding, and we’re going to make something happen. We very nearly did. A couple things go different, and we might be talking a different talk right now.”
Offensively, senior Easton Harris led the Cougars with 131 yards rushing and a touchdown. Avone Kidd added a touchdown, 77 yards rushing and 34 passing. Antwain Mitchell had 45 yards on the ground with senior Cameron Collins adding 34 yards receiving.
Jackson Callahan led the way on defense with 11 tackles. Paul Pascale had 9 tackles and a sack while Josiah Spangler and Jayden Corns chipped in 6 tackles.
