Photo Credit: Becky Antunes Photography.
China Spring (5-1) hosted the Cornerstone Christian Warriors (1-4) from San Antonio on Friday night and came away with the 49-16 Homecoming victory. The Cougars were able to run wild over the Warriors scoring all seven touchdowns on the ground.
Photo Credit: Becky Antunes Photography.
Cougars Running Wild
The Cougars didn’t need much time to punch the ball into the endzone. China Spring had four scoring drives of three plays or fewer. RB Kyle Barton led the rushing attack. Barton only played in the first half, but amassed 194 yards rushing on 10 carries. Three of those carries found the endzone. Barton put points on the board with runs of 40, 1 and 73 yards. QB Cash McCollum added 69 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. McCollum’s last touchdown was from 44 yards out as time expired in the first half.
The Cougar rushing attack was aided by the return of C Landon McMillian from injury. The senior snapper has missed the previous five games from an injury sustained in a scrimmage. Many of Barton’s yards came right up the middle following the blocking of McMillian.
Stingy China Spring Defense
As the Cougar offense was accumulating yards on the ground, the Cougar defense wasn’t allowing much on defense. The starting defensive corps only allowed 98 yards in the first half while keeping the Warriors out of the endzone. The defense was led by DT Jaylen Trotter. Trotter was bottling up the Warrior running game and putting pressure on the passing game. Keeping the Warriors contained on the outside were LBs Tristian Exline and Jacob Mott. On the few occasions a Warrior made it to the second level, Exline and Mott were there to limit the damage.
Not Without Mistakes
A 42-0 halftime lead and a 49-16 final score can make it look like a well executed game by China Spring, but the performance was not without mistakes. The first six minutes of the second quarter had much room for improvement. In that timeframe, the Cougars turned the ball over twice and had several uncharacteristic penalties. To the credit of the team and the coaching staff, China Spring quickly corrected those mistakes and starting firing on all cylinders going into halftime.
Next Up
San Antonio Cornerstone Christian will face Dallas Parish Episcopal next on October 14 while China Spring will open District 5-4A DI at home against Alvarado (3-3) next Friday, October 7.
*All statistics are unofficial
