By Pat Delaney
“A couple of plays here and there…” Cougar head coach David Morrison summed up a physical, hard fought battle that could’ve gone either way. In the end, James River’s late goal-line stand handed the Cougars a 14-7 loss heading into their bye week.
The Cougars got going on offense late in the first quarter behind a ground game led by Calvin Lancaster and two timely completions by quarterback Jayden Corns. With the ball on the Knight’s twenty, Jaiden Wilson leaped up to grab a pass near the back of the end zone for a Cougar touchdown. Erik Martinez-Tejada booted the extra point to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead with :18 to go in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, James River recovered the onside kick attempt and took over near their own 30-yard line. The Knights would cap a 70-yard drive with a touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:31 to go in the first half.
Late in the half, James River picked off a Jayden Corns pass, taking over near midfield, but the Cougar defense came up big, getting the ball back on Zach Holt’s sixth interception of the season with :29 left in the half, ending the James River threat. The score remained 7-7 at the end of a first half marked by physical play and stingy defense from both teams.
On their first drive of the second half, the Cougars turned it over on a fumble, giving the Knights excellent field position on the Cougar 30-yard line. James River took advantage of the turnover, scoring on a 10-yard run to take the lead 14-7 with 6:11 to go in the third.
Still at 14-7 midway through the fourth quarter, the Cougars took over on their own 35-yard line. Calvin Lancaster helped move the Cougars downfield, picking up hard-fought yards after contact. The Cougars had first and goal on the 3-yard line, but the Knight’s defense held, giving them the ball back with just over two minutes to go in the game. James River ran out the clock, securing the win, 14-7.
“It was a physical, hard-fought game, and we knew that’s what we were getting into,” said Cougar head coach David Morrison. “This is a much-improved James River team over the last couple of years. There’s a couple of plays here and there; had it gone the other way, we might be looking at a different outcome.”
Calvin Lancaster finished the night with 104 yards on 18 carries and 16 yards receiving. Avone Kidd added 40 yards on 10 carries. Quarterback Jayden Corns went 5-for-10 passing, for 74 yards and a touchdown. Jackson Callahan finished with 3 receptions for 43 yards
Callahan led the Cougar defense with 13 tackles, with Wheeler Helms adding 7 tackles.
The Cougars will have their bye week in the last week of the regular season and will wait to see if they make the playoffs. “It’s hard having the bye week at the end because you slug it out for 10 weeks,” then have a week off before the playoffs, said Morrison. The Cougars will use the time to “regroup and come back together, let our bodies heal up a little bit and work hard at fixing some of the fundamental issues we’re seeing right now.”
The week off will also give the team time to refocus following such a hard-fought loss. “We’ve put ourselves in a position that we can make it, now we just have to move forward.”
