By Pat Delaney
Faced with an early deficit, the Cougars showed toughness and hustle in Friday night’s matchup against Floyd County on October 3. Despite giving up a kickoff return touchdown on the first play, Patrick County rallied to tie the game by halftime, ultimately falling 14–21 in a game marked by physical play, and some missed opportunities.
After Floyd County took a 7-0 lead returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, they increased their lead to 14-0 with 10:39 to go in the first half.
The Cougars got going on offense with a long, 66-yard, seven-minute long drive, capped by a Calvin Lancaster touchdown run. The extra point kick by Erik Martinez-Tejada closed the gap to 7-14 with 3:14 left in the half.
The Cougar defense came up big, forcing the Buffaloes to go three-and-out, giving the ball back to the offense on their own 36-yard line with 2:16 to go in the half. Running a hurry-up offense, the Cougars showed great discipline as they marched down the field, getting set quickly for each play. With the ball near the goal line, Jayden Corns fought through several Buffalo defenders, reaching out for the line with the ball crossing the plane with just 9 seconds to go. Martinez-Tejada tied the game 14-14 with his extra point kick.
Receiving the opening kick of the second half, the Cougar offense drove down the field but turned the ball over following a 41-yard field goal attempt sailing just wide. The Buffaloes took advantage and scored on a 5-yard rush, retaking the lead 14-21.
Another Cougar drive ended with under a minute to go in the third with the Buffaloes blocking a field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter, both defenses played tough, holding both offenses scoreless. The Cougars had one last drive stopped by an interception, allowing the Buffaloes to run out the clock for the 14-21 win.
“That’s a tough one to swallow, because we had some opportunities in the game,” said Cougar head coach David Morrison, adding, there were things “we typically don’t do. We’re typically a lot better on special teams than what we were tonight. We try to hang our hat on being really solid on our special team’s game. We’ve got some things to clean up, but I really feel like had a couple of breaks gone our way, it’s a completely different ball game and different ending.”
Morrison was proud of how his team came back from the Buffaloes opening kickoff return touchdown. “That’s who our guys are. We’re not going to lay down, we’re not going to back down, we’re going to continue to play good solid football. I’m proud of the … effort, and the toughness and physicality they played with. We just need to clean up some of that execution.”
The Cougars will next play at Radford on October 10 for a Three-Rivers District matchup.
