By Stephen Henderson
It was a tough senior night for the Patrick County High School Cougar football team last Friday when the Martinsville Bulldogs came to play—the Bulldogs defeated the Cougars 56-7.
In a game that saw Martinsville score on every one of its possessions, the Cougars just could not find their offensive stride. The Cougars made only five first downs and picked up 91 yards on the ground.
The bright spot on the Cougar offense came midway through the fourth quarter when Tyler Stanley tossed a halfback pass 56 yards to Matt Amos who scrambled in for the only Patrick County score of the night. Ethan Harkey’s PAT was good, leaving the score 49-7 with just under seven minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs scored on their next possession, leaving the score 56-7.
Another bright spot in the game came with just moments left on the clock when Tyler Stanley ran down the left side of the field for 25 yards to the Bulldog eight yard line for a first down. Unfortunately, the Bulldog defense pushed the Cougars back on each play to foil any hopes of another score before time ran out.
Tyler Stanley led rushing with 48 yards on seven carries. James Lane added 34 on 11 carries. Logan Hutchens was 13/13, Logan Keen was 4/4 and Colt Martin was 6/3. Stanley had one pass for 56 yards and a TD; Hutchens was 2/5 for five yards. Matt Amos caught the scoring pass for 56 yards. Colt Martin was 2/5 receiving.
“This was a tough season, but with good kids like we had, it’s not that bad,” said Coach Derrick Jones. “A tough season with bad kids is really bad—but I’ve got a really good bunch of players; I really enjoyed them,” he said. “I just wish things had worked out here and there; it would have been a better season for them..
“Lots of things to work on for next year—we’re losing half of our team to graduation. We need to get some of those younger guys into the weight room. We need to work on getting stronger and gaining athleticism,” he added.
The Cougars ended the season with a 1-9 record.
