donbrown00@alltel.net
Staff writer
LEITCHFIELD - Big plays were the name of the game Tuesday evening as the eighth-grade football team steamrolled visiting Ohio County 32-8.
A missed extra-point was the difference in the seventh-grade game as the Cougars dropped a tough, 8-6 decision to the Eagles.
EIGHTH-GRADE GAME
Quarterback Hunter Gary threw four touchdown passes in this game, three of them of 70 yards or better, and ran back a kickoff 76 yards for another touchdown as the Cougars rolled to a blowout win. Gary finished the day with 4 of 6 passing for 242 yards.
The Eagles were forced to punt on their first possession and Cougar Jacob Pierce returned the ball 30 yards, to the Ohio County 15. The Cougars were flagged for holding on the return and the ball was moved back to the 25.
The Cougars gained a first down at the 14, but three unproductive plays and another penalty saw them facing a fourth-and-20 as they called a timeout with 3:49 left in the quarter. Back on the field, Gary rolled to his right and found Wes Trail uncovered in the end zone for the first touchdown of the night. A run on the conversion attempt failed and kept the score at 6-0.
Following the kick, Ohio County fumbled the ball on first down and Corey Clemons recovered, giving the ball to the Cougars at the Cougar 28. On first down, Gary hit Gavin Alvey with a short pass up the seam on the left side and the tight end took it all the way for the second score of the game. A pass for two was no good, making the score 12-0 at the 3:20 mark.
The Eagles moved the ball on their next possession from their own 31, deep into Cougar territory. But on a fourth and two at the 22, they came up a yard short and Grayson County took over.
At the start of the second period, facing fourth and one at the 30, the Cougars crossed up the visitors. Instead of a running play, they called the same pass play as before, just on the other side of the line. Trail took Gary's short toss and took it 70 yards for another score. A run failed to convert the two-point play and at the 3:30 mark it was 18-0.
The Eagles then put together their only scoring drive of the night. Taking over at their own 31, they moved 69 yards in seven plays, running the ball in from eight yards out to get on the board. They successfully converted a run for two points to make it 18-8 with just 27 seconds left in the first half.
If you had thought that 27 seconds was not enough time for the Cougars to score again, you would have been wrong. Gary fielded the kickoff at the 24-yard line, danced away from several tacklers, then picked up blockers down the left sideline and took it the distance. This time the extra point was converted on a pass from Gary to Trail and with just nine seconds left in the half, Grayson County led 26-8.
Midway through the third period, the Cougars stopped an Eagle drive and took over the ball at their own 14. Pierce got free on first down and ran the ball out to the 37. Gary then ran for 10 more yards, but the Cougars were flagged for a face mask penalty and the ball was moved back to the Cougars 38, where it was second and eight.
The Cougars were again flagged on the next play, this time for holding, and they faced second and 24 at their own 23. Taking the snap, Gary rolled to his right and heaved the ball just about as far as he could, aiming for Sean Tuttle near midfield. Tuttle was able to take the ball in behind two defenders and outrun them both to the end zone. A pass for two points failed, but the Cougars were able to keep the Eagles from scoring the rest of the way to preserve the 32-8 win.
SEVENTH-GRADE GAME
Two third-quarter touchdowns barely 19 seconds apart were all the scoring either team could manage in this defensive struggle, but the difference came when the Cougars failed to convert their extra-point attempt and the Eagles were successful.
In the first meeting between these two young teams, Ohio County hung a big loss on the Cougars, but this game was very different. The Cougars stopped the Ohio County offense on downs three times in the first half and recovered an Eagle fumble on another possession as they they went into the halftime intermission tied 0-0.
Grayson County held again in the third period and took over at their own 40. A run on first down gained two yards before Jade Pierce took a handoff on a little counter play. The big seventh-grader found a nice hole and beat a pair of defenders around the left corner and sprinted to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown run. Grayson County tried to run for two points, but came up short.
The Eagles took the kickoff back to their own 42 just before the end of the period. As the final period began, they had a first and 10 at the Cougar 48. A sweep of the left side went all the way for the tying touchdown. On the conversion, the Cougars appeared to have the runner stopped outside the end zone, but he managed to stretch the ball across the line and the officials awarded him the two points.
The Cougars picked up a first down on their final possession, but two big losses gave the Eagles the ball at the Cougar 31 and they ran out the final two minutes to give them the win.
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