The Cougars closed out their scrimmage games on a successful note last Friday night against Muhlenberg North, outscoring the Stars 19-14 in a scrimmage played in near-game conditions.

The JV squad also had a good outing, scoring two touchdowns to take its scrimmage match 14-0.

The Stars are pretty much one-dimensional on offense, lining up and running play after play behind a massive front line that pushes the pile in a heaving scrum, four and five yards at a time, and occasionally popping a longer run.

The Cougars did a fair job of holding up to that pounding, but the Stars were able to pop a couple of long runs on them for their touchdowns, the first one coming on their first possession.

Everything was like a normal game in this scrimmage except for kicking situations, when the whistle blew whenever a kick or punt was fielded. Also, there was no rushing on extra-point attempts.

The Stars had the first possession and got a break on first down when the Cougars jumped offside. Two runs moved the ball to a second-and-five at the 50 when the Stars’ line blew open a big hole, allowing the tailback to break free on a 50-yard romp for the first score of the night at the 10:25 mark.

The Cougars responded with a nine-play, 70-yard drive for a touchdown to tie it at 6-6. Junior Aaron Deviney had three carries in the drive of 21, 10 and 14 yards before junior quarterback Jacob Clemons hit senior Johnathan Higdon with a 24-yard scoring pass at the 6:34 mark. Hunter Gary’s extra-point try failed and the score remained 6-6.

The Stars gained a pair of first downs on their next possession, taking the ball into Cougar territory. But the Cougars stopped them on a fourth-and-six and took possession at their own 37-yard line.

Gary took over the quarterback spot on this possession and on first down connected with Clemons on a pass that just missed going all the way for a touchdown. Clemons was run down from behind at the Stars’ seven-yard line, a 56-yard hook-up.

The Cougars scored on the next play, with Higdon taking a pitch and scampering in for the TD. Gary again missed the extra-point try, but with :39.8 left in the first quarter, the Cougars led 12-6.

As play moved into the second quarter, the Stars had once again moved over midfield into Cougar territory. But on a second-and-eight play, Stars fullback Johnny Miller fumbled the ball and Higdon pounced on it to give Grayson County the ball at their own 36.

On a second-and-seven play from their own 40 following a penalty that nullified a Cougar first down, junior Dustin Thomas ripped off 55 yards, down to the Stars five for a first-and-goal.

Gary was sacked at the 12 on first down, then Clemons was stuffed for no gain on second. But on third-and-goal from the 12, Clemons found a slanting Matt Thurner over the middle, and the senior tight end carried a tackler into the end zone for the Cougars’ final score of the night. This time Gary’s extra-point kick was good and with 5:11 left in the quarter, Grayson County led 19-6.

It took the Stars just one play to answer the last Cougar touchdown as Miller broke through a hole over tackle and romped untouched 70 yards for the score. North quarterback Dalton Oliver then ran in a two-point conversion and the score stood at 19-14 with 5:11 left in the period.

Penalties killed the Cougars on their next possession. Grayson County picked up a first down at the Cougar 47 following a 16-yard pass from Gary to Thomas, but a 41-yard Thomas run on second down was nullified on a holding call, moving the ball back to the Cougar 40.

The Cougars gained another first down at the North 43, but a second-down, 11-yard pass to Thomas was erased on another holding call, and the ball was moved back to the Grayson County 45, where they faced a second-and-21. The drive stalled at that point and the Cougars punted it away with less than a minute to play.

North picked up one first down, but the Cougars stopped them on downs at the Grayson County 45 with nine seconds left. Grayson County went for the home run on their last play, but the ball fell incomplete as the horn sounded.

The JV squads then took the field and played the whole second half. The Cougars had the ball first and moved into North territory, but lost a fumble at their own 45.

The Stars moved to a first down at the 38, but as the quarter ended, they were flagged for illegal procedure on a fourth-and-one at the 29. As the second period began, the Cougars held and took over for their second possession at the 29.

On first down, sophomore Cody Bertram got loose for 14 yards, carrying for a first down at the 43. On the next play the Cougars scored. Sophomore Jacob Pierce took a pitch around the left side, and bobbed and weaved down the far sideline, following blockers 57 yards for the first JV score. The Cougars were stopped on a try for a two-point conversion and the score was 6-0 at the 7:16 mark of the second quarter.

The Stars started steadiily moving the ball, picking up four first downs which took the ball down to the Cougar 23. But the Cougars then got tough on defense. Two runs lost three yards before sophomore Colton Runsvold recorded a sack of the Stars’ quarterback at the 32.

Facing a fourth-and-19, the Stars again droped back to pass, and this time sophomore Sean Tuttle sacked the quarterback, giving the Cougars the ball at their own 40 with just under 48 seconds left to play.

But that was more than enough time for the Cougars to score again as Tuttle took a handoff and raced 60 yards to paydirt with less than 32 seconds ahowing on the clock. Pierce added a two-point conversion to give the JV Cougars the 14-0 victory.

Grayson County will open its regular season this coming Friday, August 29, when they make the trip south to Brownsville for the annual Tobacco Bowl. The Wildcats will be looking to snatch back the Tobacco Stick which the Cougars won back last year with a 20-12 victory at Cougar Field. Game-time Friday is set for 7 p.m.