The C team started the day off by notching a 27-0 shutout. The Cougars defense was able to thwart all of Marcus Whitman’s drives on the day, despite facing an impressive MW passing attack.

The Cougar offensive and defensive lines both did fantastic jobs of dominating the line of scrimmage. The holes created by the guys up front on offense made plenty of room for some impressive running by Wyatt Hayes and Peter Romig. The Cougars’ steady running game allowed them to keep MW off the board and take a 13-0 lead into halftime. The second half saw more of the same, including a stout defense lead by leading tacklers Matthew Blythe and Patrick Lustyk. The Cougars scoring was capped by a long TD run in the 4^th quarter by Peter Romig that put the Cougars up 27-0. The game ended on a grinding, clock-killing Cougar drive that was kept alive on multiple first down runs by Hayden Meehan, Andrew Childs, and Matthew Blythe. Cougar quarterback Jason Hoffman converted on two extra point passes on the day.  

The Cougar B team faced a slightly stiffer challenge in the form of a tough MW running game that put the Wildcats on the board first in an eventual 26-18 win. The Cougars answered back quickly, with Jake Calhoun converting on a critical 4^th down, and culminating in Mitchell Slymon taking it in for the score on a keeper. The Cougars responded to MW’s early success with the run with some key defensive stops, led by Salvatore Tripi and a timely strip by Derek Childs leading to a fumble recovery for the Cougars. A long TD reception from Mitchell Slymon to Dylan Nichols, followed by a TD run by Jake Calhoun put the Cougars on top 19-6 at the half.         

Despite a strong comeback bid by a tough MW offense, the Cougars rallied back at the end of the game in the form of a long TD run by Noah Clarke, capped by a beautiful extra point pass from Slymon to a wide open Sal Tripi in the right side of the south end zone. The Cougars played a solid team defense led by leading tackler Dylan Nichols, who showed leadership in a late goal line stand denying MW of any chance of a comeback.

The Cougars C/B teams play at Jordan-Elbridge next Sunday, Sept. 16^th at 11:00AM and 1:00PM, respectively. Let’s “travel well” and show our HFL Youth Cougars support on the road!