Staff writer
LEITCHFIELD -- The Cougars' middle school football teams picked up two more wins Thursday evening over visiting Edmonson County.
In the eighth-grade opener, the Cougars built a 26-0 lead before giving up a late fourth-quarter touchdown and won 26-8 to move to 3-0 on the season.
The seventh-grade team was holding on to a slim, 6-0 lead as time ran down before getting game-ending, 43-yard interception return for a touchdown from Hunter Gary to down the Wildcats 14-0.
EIGHTH GRADE
The Cougars wasted little time jumping out to a lead. After Dustin Thomas gave the Cougars great field position by taking a short kickoff at the 40 and returning it to the Wildcat 48, it took Grayson County just one play to find paydirt.
Aaron Deviney took a pitchout sweeping left, beat everyone to the corner and found smooth sailing all the way down the Cougars' side of the field for the score. A run for the two-point try failed, and with just 16 seconds having been run off the clock, the Cougars led 6-0.
The Wildcats took the ensuing kickoff and began marching. They took the ball from their own 30 and moved it to the Cougar 31 before running into difficulties. With second-and-four, two plays gained only three yards and the Cougars took over on downs at their own 29 with 1:20 left in the first period.
From there, the Cougars moved 72 yards in 10 plays, with Deviney carrying over from the three for the score. Deviney carried for 49 yards on the drive, with Andrew Brooks picking the other 23 on two carries. Deviney carried the two-point conversion across and with 4:34 left in the half, the Cougars led 14-0.
The Wildcats began to get a little desperate, going to the passing game. They picked up a first down at the Cougar 38 on a second-down pass play that went for 30 yards, but the next pass was intercepted by Deviney at the 15 and returned to the Wildcat 43.
It took just five plays for the Cougars to get into the end zone once more, this time with quarterback Jacob Clemons carrying in from the one. The Cougars tried to pass for two, but it fell incomplete and they took a 20-0 lead into the halftime intermission.
The Wildcats kept the ball for nearly the whole third quarter, but wound up putting nothing on the board. They moved from their own 38 to the Cougar nine, but on fourth down Johnny Armstrong broke up a pass attempt and the Cougars took over on downs.
Both teams had empty possessions before the Cougars took over at the Wildcat 35 with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter. On first down, Deviney took advantage of a crushing block from Michael Bounds to move the ball to the 18 for another first down. Brian Beeler carried twice to the eight before Deviney carried it the rest of the way for his third touchdown of the game. A run failed and with 3:41 left to play, the Cougars were on top 26-0.
The Wildcats kept from being shutout on the ensuing kickoff when one of their up-men took the kickoff and returned it 74 yard for a score. A pass was good for two points to make it 26-8 3:18 left.
The Wildcats had one last opportunity to move the ball, taking over at their own 23 with 37 seconds remaining, but the Cougars kept them bottled up until the siren sounded ending the game.
SEVENTH GRADE
The Wildcats gained a first down at the Cougar 38 on their first possession of the game, but a penalty and two quarterback sacks put them in a hole they could not get out of and the Cougars took over on downs at the Wildcat 43.
It took just six plays for the Cougars to get on the board, with Hunter Gary doing all the heavy lifting. Gary went in from the two at the 5:51 mark of the second quarter. A run failed and the score stayed at 6-0.
The Wildcats had more success on its next possession, moving from their own 39 to the Cougar 17. Facing a fourth-and-seven there with 22 seconds left in the half, an incomplete pass gave the Cougars the ball and they ran out the clock to maintain their slim lead at the half.
The Wildcats had the ball the whole third quarter, but with a third-and-six at the Cougar 10, they lost a fumble and the Cougars took possession at the nine as the period ended.
Neither team could get anything going in the final period, but the Wildcats got the ball back with 1:18 to play and desperately tried to get on the board. Facing fourth-and-five at their own 21, the Wildcats put up a Hail-Mary pass that Gary picked off at the 43 and returned for the clinching touchdown with seven seconds left.
After the two-point conversion was good, the officials blew the whistle to call the game to an end even though there were a few seconds remaining. With the win, the seventh-grade team improved to 2-1 for the season.
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