The Patrick County Cougars wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, exploding out of the gate with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and never looking back in a commanding 55-7 road win over the North Stokes Vikings on September 12.
“We’re a lot better than we’ve been playing, and we just had to put it all together,” said Cougar head coach David Morrison. “This week we really focused a lot more on what we need to do to win, and the guys really bought into it, and they were getting after it tonight.”
Calvin Lancaster took the opening kickoff 75 yards behind solid blocking, giving the Cougars the 7-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game.
The defense came up big with a Zach Holt interception on the Viking’s first drive, giving the offense the ball near midfield. The Cougars quickly drove the ball downfield, ending with a 4-yard Avone Kidd touchdown run.
When the Vikings mishandled the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars pounced on the loose ball, taking over in Viking territory. Once again, the Cougars moved the ball downfield, culminating in a Calvin Lancaster touchdown run, extending their lead to 21-0 with 7:58 to go in the first quarter.
The Cougars offensive line played great, giving runners the space they needed for big gains. On the night, the Cougars rushed for 429 yards on 29 carries, averaging over 14 yards a carry.
Coach Morrison felt the offensive line play was a big factor in the team’s rushing performance. “That’s what we have to have. We’ve got to have those linemen playing like that. They’re starting to come together. Whenever you have to replace as many guys on the line as we did, there’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period, and I think our guys have really started to come through that and they’re going to start to excel as we move further into the season.”
Leading 49-0 at halftime, the Cougars would add another touchdown in the third quarter, and only gave up a Viking touchdown in the last seconds of the game for the 55-7 win.
On offense, Calvin Lancaster picked up 148 yards on 9 carries, averaging 16 yards per carry. Avone Kidd ran the ball 8 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and Antwain Mitchell had 100 yards on 6 carries and a touchdown. Jayden Corns had two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Cougars were all over the Viking runners, stopping many plays for a loss, making it even tougher for North Stokes to extend drives. The Cougar defense swarmed the ball, using team speed to track down the Viking ball carriers. “We don’t have a great deal of size, but what we are blessed with is a good bit of speed,” said Morrison.
Wheeler Helms and Jackson Callahan had 6 tackles each, with Calvin Lancaster, Aiden Frazier and Josiah Shelor each chipping in 4 tackles.
Kicker Erik Martinez-Tejada was perfect on the night on extra point attempts, going 7-for-7.
The Cougars return home for a September 19 matchup with Chatham.
