It was the first time in many years that the Cougars had been able to handle the Trojans, but winning on the Trojan's field and winning convincingly gives new life to the idea that the football fortunes of Grayson County are on the rise.
The final score was not really indicative of the thorough dominance the Cougars displayed. With the JV secondary in the game at the end, the Trojans threw for a pair of touchdowns and two-point conversions in the game's last minute. This game was all Cougars from start to finish.
Grayson County took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards in four plays for the first score. Kevin Phelps' 47-yard run on a third down play set the Cougars up at the Trojan 15, and Brian Sandlin carried the rest of the way for the touchdown at the 10:21 mark.
After the Cougars forced a punt, Phelps picked up 20 yards, down to the Trojan 17, but he lost the handle and the Trojans recovered. It took Barren County just one play to score. On first down, quarterback Scott Buchannon hit dangerous receiver Kellen Smith with a little slant pass over the middle. The speedy Smith broke a couple of Cougar tackles and sprinted 83 yards for the score. On the conversion attempt, Houston Hodge broke through the line and blocked the kick and the Cougars retained the lead, 7-6.
After having to punt, the Cougars backed up Barren County at their own six, then got a big break. On first down, the Trojans fumbled and Blake Newton was on the spot to cover it at the eight. Two plays later, Phelps scored from the five and the Cougars were off and running.
Grayson County stopped a Trojan drive at the Cougar 23 at the 7:36 mark of the second period and quickly went back to work. Sandlin ripped off a 42-yard run on first down and the Cougars were threatening again. Phelps ran for 11, and a late-hit penalty on Barren County moved the ball to the 20. Sandlin moved it to the 13, then Newton took it the rest of the way for the score. Gavin Logsdon's third extra point made it 21-6 Cougars at the 6:31 mark.
The Trojans turned the ball over once more with 3:28 left in the half at the Cougar 49. Moving steadily downfield and using their timeouts wisely, the Cougars were able to put another score on the board with just eight seconds left in the half. Sandlin carried in from two yards out to give Grayson County a 28-6 lead at the half.
The speedy Smith returned a Cougar punt 34 yards to set up the Trojans at the Cougar 31 with 1:59 left in the third quarter. Two pass plays later, the combination of Buchannon to Smith clicked again. A two-point try failed and the score stood at 28-12.
The Trojans tried an on-side kick, but the Cougars covered the ball at the 50, where they started another scoring drive. Sandlin carried for a first down at the 23 as the quarter ended. A run by Phelps, and two more by Newton put the ball at the five, from where Sandlin, the Cougars' touchdown machine this year, took it in for the score. With 10:14 left in the game, the Cougars were in charge 35-12.
The Cougars were moving again inside six minutes, but the Trojans recovered a fumble at their own 14 to stop the drive. However, on first down, Buchannon was sacked back at the three and had to leave the game temporarily with an injury. His replacement, Blake Eaton, tried a rollout on the next play, but he was brought down in the end zone by Nik Dunkelberger for a safety.
Leading 37-12, the Cougars got the ball back, but failed to move it and punted to the Trojans. Against the Cougars' second-team secondary, the Trojans found success through the air and moved the ball 83 yards, scoring on a 17-yard pass from Buchannon to Luke Leonard with :44.8 showing on the clock. Buchannon then hit Smith for a two-pointer to make it 37-20.
Normally, that would probably be all the scoring in a game, but after recovering another on-side kick attempt at the Trojan 48, the Cougars' Ryan Hodges burst through a hole on the right side and sped all the way to paydirt. Logsdon's kick was good, and with just 35.7 seconds left, the score stood at 44-20.
Still the scoring wasn't over, as Smith caught two consecutive passes, for 44 and 20 yards to score again with :16.1 remaining. Another two-pointer was good to make it 44-28.
Thankfully, that was enough as the Cougars took a knee to run the clock out and secure the win.
This Friday, the 4-2 Cougars will be tested mightily as the Apollo Eagles come calling at Cougar Field. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
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