By Stephen Henderson
It has been many years since the Patrick County High School Cougars won a homecoming football game, but that streak came to an end Friday night as they defeated North Stokes 39-7. The first win of the season was one that made the team, fans and coaches
flood to the center of the field to celebrate with fireworks and cheers.
Head Coach Derrick Jones was exceedingly proud of how the players came out and made the win happen. “They worked hard all week—they wanted this win,” he said.
According to Jones, the team wanted to pair the throwing game and the running game to take advantage of the North Stokes defense. “We wanted to throw the ball as well as run the ball,” he said. “With our two quarterback system, we accomplished that tonight,” he said.
The plan was to run the ball up the middle to set the Viking defense up with running the ball; then, start passing the ball to the outside while the defense was still keying on the middle run. “It worked for us,” Jones said.
Tyvin Martin took advantage of the middle run, picking up 154 yards on 15 carries, including two touchdowns. Tyler Stanley added 61 yards on five carries and a touchdown to the scoreboard. Logan Hutchens and Colt Martin each added a TD with Hutchens rushing for 48 yards, Martin 40 yards.
Hunter Lawless was seven for eight passing, picking up 124 yards. Logan Hutchens threw one completion for a touchdown.
“Matt Amos and Seth Scott were unstoppable,” Jones said. The two pass receivers totaled 110 yards passing with Scott scoring a touchdown and Amos adding 51 yards on three receptions. Aaron Radford had one catch for 19 yards.
“The Cougar defense was exceptional,” Jones said. “Thanks goes to Coach David Morrison for his calls on defense.”
Leading tacklers were Zach Strole, who had seven tackles and two assists. Matt Amos was 5/1 and Tyler Stanley was 4/1. Shemar Hill had three tackles.
The Cougar defense held the Vikings to just 71 yards on the ground. Passing, they picked up 18 yards. The only Viking score came on a recovered fumble (a high Cougar snap was recovered) and run back for the score. The PAT was good, with the score 13-7 with 5:38 left in the first half.
The Cougars scored on their opening possession, hauling the ball from their own 35 yard line to the Viking 14. Seth Scott snagged a pass in the left corner of the end zone for the score. Ethan Harkey’s PAT was good.
Scott intercepted a Viking pass near the end of the first quarter to set up Patrick County’s second score. The Cougars moved the ball from their own 16 yard line to the Viking 29 when Colt Martin bolted off the right side, weaving his way to the four yard line. He ran the same play next and scored the second TD of the night with 8:04 left in the first half. Harkey’s kick was short, leaving the score at 13-0.
Moments before the half, Hunter Lawless popped into the end zone for a TD on a seven-yard run. The PAT was no good.
Tyvin Martin made it 26-7 with seven minutes left in the third quarter when he led the Cougar offense on the ground, including a run of 30 yards. He scored from eight yards out. Harkey’s kick bounced off the goal post and went in for the PAT.
With just over 10 minutes left in the game, Tyvin Martin scrambled 41 yards for his second score of the game; the two-point attempt failed, leaving the score 32-7.
The final score of the game came on a Tyler Stanley run from the 13 yard line. The PAT was good, giving the Cougars the win 39-7.
The Cougars travel to Tunstall this week, hoping to keep up the momentum for a district win.
