The Cougar football faithful had plenty to cheer on homecoming night against the Chatham Cavaliers on September 19. With dominant play on both sides of the ball, the Cougars took the early lead and never looked back for the 47-0 shutout win.
On their opening drive, penalties helped stall the Cougars, who would turn the ball over on downs. Zach Holt intercepted a Chatham pass, instantly swinging momentum back to the Cougars, giving them great field position. Avone Kidd opened up the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:32 to go in the first quarter.
The Cougar defense picked up another turnover on the next Chatham drive, forcing a fumble on a big hit, again, giving the offense a short field. The Cougars found the end zone on a Calvin Lancaster run, increasing their lead to 14-0 with 2:58 to go in the first.
The lead would grow to 21-0 when Lancaster broke a tackle inside the 10-yard line and lunged into the end zone early in the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, the defense again came up big, this time with a Jackson Callahan interception, which would turn into points on a Jayden Corns 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Cougars the 28-0 lead they would take into halftime.
In the second half, Avone Kidd and Jayden Corns would each add a rushing touchdown, while the defense continued to give little to the Chatham offense.
One of the few bright spots for Chatham was a long pass play to get deep into Cougar territory. Their drive would end with a spectacular, one-handed interception by Jayden Corns on the Cougar 15-yard line. After bringing the ball down, he dashed 85-yards for the pick-six.
Chatham would make one more drive into Cougar territory late in the fourth quarter, getting inside the 10-yard line. The Cougar defense stood its ground, forcing a turnover on downs, and keeping the shutout alive.
The defense played tough all night, creating turnovers, picking up tackles for loss, and allowing almost no big plays.
“I can’t say enough about our defense play tonight,” said Cougar head coach David Morrison. “Coach Mosley and our defensive staff have these guys lined up and ready to go. We’re not making big mistakes like we were seeing earlier in the year. They did a great job. Hats off to our defense. It’s great when you can see the big plays going your way and your defense standing firm and shutting teams out.”
Leading the way for the defense was Jackson Callahan with 16 tackles, 4 for a loss, and an interception. Wheeler Helms had 12 tackles, 2 for a loss, and Adin Geiger, Andrew Miller and Antwain Mitchell each chipped in 5 tackles.
Offensively, the Cougars’ two-quarterback system continues to pay off with Avone Kidd and Jayden Corns each having big nights. The offensive line had a fantastic game, creating the room Cougar runners needed to gain yards.
“We’re getting there,” said Morrison of his offense. “We know going in, this offense takes a little time to gel, but once it does, it is very tough to stop.”
Jayden Corns picked up 145 yards on 14 carries, with two touchdown runs on the night. Calvin Lancaster carried the ball 11 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Avone Kidd added 81 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.
Looking ahead, Coach Morrison likes the progress his team continues to show, adding, “the sky’s the limit for these kids if they just believe.”
With a dominant homecoming win behind them, the Cougars now set their sights on their game at Carroll County on September 26.
