The two-time defending State Champions stepped on the scorching hot turf at Lorena with a lot of new faces and one crucial question: Rebuild or Reload? After the final horn, with the scoreboard reading 35-13 in favor of the defending champs, the answer was clear. The Cougars are, once again, for real.
While the Lorena Leopards are in Class 3A, they are a top-ranked team led by seniors Kaden Roberts and Braylon Henry and have always played the Cougars close. China Spring came out and dictated the pace of play. It seemed the Cougars could only lose if they beat themselves, and they almost did.
Unforced Errors
Photo by Becky Antunes Photograph
Blame it on the heat, or maybe first-game jitters, but China Spring had uncharacteristic unforced errors. In the first half, the Cougars had two unsportsmanlike penalties and a stretch of 3 penalties in two plays that backed them into the shadow of their own goalpost. For many teams, especially a young team, this could have driven them in the wrong direction. But, as expected with this coaching staff, the Cougars came out of the locker room in the second half with the discipline and character of Cougar Football.
Defense Shined
The two familiar faces of LB Ryder Reeves and CB Cage McCloud showed their experience on the field. Reeves stuffed the run and recovered a fumble while McCloud shut down the Leopard passing game. But the new faces made an impact. LB Zane Borland, who saw some playing time last year as a Sophomore, made his presence felt—Borland’s interception of Roberts on Lorena’s first drive set up the Cougar’s first score. On the defensive line, Izaak Lard was consistently in the Leopard backfield, disrupting the running game while also blocking a punt that Ryan Hale scooped up and took to the endzone.
Lorena’s two scores came on a 60-yard pass play and a 70-yard run. Outside of those two plays, the Cougar defense gave up 160 yards of total offense. Of the eight non-scoring Leopard drives, the longest only resulted in 34 yards.
Solid Offense
Photo by Becky Antunes Photograph
Any offense that returns RB Kyle Barton and QB Cash McCollum is going to be pretty good. In just over three-quarters of work, Barton had 93 total yards and two touchdowns, while McCollum passed for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Newcomers WR Greyson Martin and WR/QB Matthew Battles showed they are up to the task of playing for the defending state champs. Martin, who ended the night with 65 total yards and two touchdowns, earned Player of the Game, while Battles showed his speed with a 61-yard rush from the QB spot in the 4th quarter.
Next Up
The Cougars will step out of the frying pan and into the fire as they host the Melissa Cardinals (1-0) next Friday night at Cougar Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Argyle Eagles 50-14 in week 1.
All stats are unofficial
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