Paced by three touchdowns by wide receiver Manny Netherly, the No. 2 Crosby Cougars quickly outpaced Barbers Hill and downed the Eagles by the score of 40-21 at Eagle Stadium in the Houston suburb of Mont Belvieu, Texas on Friday, September 11, 2015.
With the win, the Cougars go to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in District 21-5A play while the Eagles fall to 1-2.
Netherly caught five passes for 138 yards in route to his three touchdown game, the best of the season for the 6-1 junior, and raises his count to six TDs for the 2015 season. He first reached the end zone at the 3:44 mark in the first quarter on a four-yard pass reception from quarterback Tristan Cotton.
He added his second score of the game with 5:45 remaining in the first half as a result of a 65-yard pass from Cotton. He rounded out his scoring onslaught with a 50-yard pass, again from Cotton two minutes later. Cotton finished the game competing 21-of-32 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard first after four minutes, 46 seconds of play when senior running back Sherman McGee carried the ball the final six yards into the end zone for the score. Jesse Vargas added the kicking extra point, as he did for all the Crosby touchdowns of the night. Barbers Hill quickly answered the McGee score with a touchdown of their own, on a one-yard run by senior running back Hunter Gobert. Marco Castillo tied the score at seven-all with the first of his three extra-point kicks.
Crosby followed up with two of Netherly’s scores before Barbers Hill again found the end zone for their second score of the game; a two yard run by junior running back Cameron Hendricks. Netherly’s third TD follow before the Eagles scored on another Hendricks run, a five-yard romp with 37 seconds remaining in the first half. Both teams headed to the locker room at halftime with Crosby holding a 28-21 lead.
The Cougars added two insurance scores in the third quarter on a 54-yard run by junior wide receiver Terryl Wiley at the 10:45 mark in the third quarter and a five yard pass from Cotton to senior wide receiver Shane Hudson. Crosby opted from the two-point conversion and failed on the attempt.
Crosby accounted for 532 yards of total offense against the Eagles, with 360 if the yards coming from Cotton’s aerial attack. The Eagles posted 248 yards of total offense, with 186 yards coming on the ground. The physicality of the game was evident with the officials throwing their flags 14 times with 118 penalty yards assessed to both teams.
Barbers Hill will next face the 1-2 Dayton Broncos on Friday, September 18, 2015 with a 7 p.m. CDT kickoff at Bronco Stadium in Dayton. Crosby will face the Humble Wildcats at Cougar Stadium on Friday, September 18, 2015 in a 7 p.m. CDT contest.
All photos by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
