By Stephen Henderson
In his first game as Patrick County High School’s head football coach, David Morrison saw his Cougars fall to Carroll County 25-7.
Patrick County received the opening kickoff but failed to move the ball 10 yards for a first down and kicked on a fourth-and-one situation.
The Cavaliers moved the ball to their own 49 on the return. Three plays later they were on the Cougar 29 when Cougar Chase Jessup stopped a potential TD run on the five yard line. However, three plays later, the Cavaliers scored from the one yard line. The PAT kick failed, leaving Carroll County ahead 6-0.
The Cougars received the kick and moved it to the 11 and moved it to the Carroll County 37 after pass receptions by Jacob McNulty and Josh Cockram. With the ball on the Carroll County five yard line, the Cavaliers intercepted a pass and ended the Cougar 85-yard drive.
Early in the second period, Carroll County started a drive to the Cougar 26 when Josh Cockram blocked a TD-potential pass on fourth down, turning the ball over to Patrick on their own 26 yard line.
After four plays, the Cougars were forced to punt.
The Cavaliers started their next drive on their own 49 but quickly moved to end zone with a 49-yard TD run with 6:50 left in the half. The two-point attempt was stopped behind the line of scrimmage, leaving the score 12-0.
After receiving the kickoff and failing to move the ball, a weak punt by the Cougars gave Carroll the ball on the PC 34. Three plays later, a completed pass put the Cavaliers in the end zone once again with 3:04 left in the half. The PAT kick was blocked by the Cougars.
Neither team mounted much of an offensive attack in the third quarter until late in the period when Carroll County marched 55 yards downfield for their final score of the game. The PAT kick was good, giving the Cavaliers a 25-0 lead.
In Patrick County’s final possession of the game, some powerful running by Lee Harvey Edwards and other Cougar runners moved the ball 80 yards for the lone Cougar score. Senior Derek Howard plowed through the Cavalier line behind the blocking of Bradley Pell and Jared Lawson to score with eleven seconds left on the clock. Ethan Harkey’s PAT kick was good, making the score 25-7 at the buzzer.
Coach Morrison was proud of certain aspects of Friday night’s game. “I was happy with our ability to control the interior of Carroll County’s defensive line as well as the good play of our defensive ends and safeties,” he said.
The Cougars, as well as the Cavaliers, had several “big plays” that worked for and against each team. “We were able to stop many of their drives, but were unable at times to set the edge or come up and make a tackle in a one-on-one situation that led to some big gains on their part,” Morrison said.
The Cougars made a few big runs, pass receptions and pass breakups, but not the “big play” like Morrison wished for. “Our inability to execute at the point of attack on the edge and hit the hole hard was a severe detriment to our ability to make the big play. We have to be able to execute better when we get the matchups that we want,” he said.
The Cougars picked up 136 yards on the ground Friday night. Harvey Lee Edwards led with 54 yards on seven carries. Shemar Hill added 33 yards on 16 carries and AJ Robertson picked up 30 yards on four carries.
Josh Cockram caught two passes for 28 yards and Jacob McNulty added 11 yards on two receptions.
Bryson Fulcher led on defense with 11 tackles; Josh Cockram added nine, and Shemar Hill and Jess Edwards each added eight.
Jared Lawson forced a fumble and Brad Pell recovered a fumble.
“This week our focus will be on getting better at the point of attack offensively with our entire backfield and executing better from our play action series,” Morrison said. “Defensively, we have to get better at taking on the block at the point of attack and block destruction,” he added.
This week the Cougars host Floyd County with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. at Hooker Field.
