Despite some early hints of a dominant defensive line by Jordan-Elbridge, it would prove to be the HFL Cougars’ defense that would rule the day on a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon in Jordan, NY. Perhaps thinking that they had learned something in watching the C-team game, on the opening drive J-E moved the ball effectively with several outside pitches and sweeps. Perhaps in trying too much trickery, an ill-advised J-E halfback option was sniffed out and thwarted by Nolan Yates, who blew up the Eagles running back while attempting to throw the ball, resulting in an HFL fumble recovery. After both defenses showed dominance early, successively forcing the ball over on downs, HFL was able to break through the stalemate. On a long drive lead by Nate Ross and Zac Meacham, HFL struck on a scoring run by Ross, putting HFL up 6-0. The Eagles appeared to be on their way to evening the score on a long reverse running play when Joseph Rogers made a touchdown-saving tackle at HFL’s 7 yard line. In what would prove to be the theme of the day, HFL’s stout defense refused to yield even seven more yards, stymying J-E’s scoring opportunity. In what seemed to be shaping up to be a defensive slugfest, HFL was also able to do little in the way of scoring, and halftime came and went with HFL leading 6-0.

The second half would prove to be a major turning point in the game, seeing the Cougars offense come to life. Christian Coler proved to be the spark on the both sides of the ball that ignited the Cougars. After making a huge tackle for a loss on defense, Coler took his first handoff of the second half all the way to the house on a blazing 76-yard scoring sprint. Mason Wanzenreid picked up the extra point on a QB keeper, making the score 13-0. Upon receiving the kickoff, Jordan-Elbridge faced an onslaught of HFL defenders, including Benji Carson, J.T. Killenbec, and Jamie Greer. The Cougars held J-E’s offense in check, resulting in the ball to be turned over on downs. This momentum gained by the HFL defense was transferred directly to the Cougars offense, as HFL marched right down the field. The scoring drive was capped off on a thunderous 14 yard run by Nate Ross, putting the Cougars up 20-0. Any hopes of a Jordan-Elbridge were snuffed on the very next Eagles possession. After a very nice 25 yard kick return by J-E set the Eagles up with the ball at midfield, Cougars CB Andrew Childs picked off the next pass and swiftly ran it back to the J-E 35 yard line. From this point on, the Cougars maintained a field possession advantage that would prove to be too much for the Eagles.

Following a nice pass by Brody Young to Jack Graney that drove the ball all the way down to the J-E 2-yard line, the Eagles defense made a strong goal line stand to deny a Cougars touchdown. That success was short-lived however, as a swarming HFL defense pinned the Eagles into their own end zone for a safety. After receiving the free kick following the safety, the Cougars went back to their main offensive weapon on the day, Nate Ross. Ross brought back memories of John Riggins with an amazingly powerful 35- yard touchdown run, leaving a field strewn with downed J-E defenders in his wake. HFL defender Jaden Inboune put an exclamation point on the victory with a couple of fantastic closing stops, and the Cougars went home with a 28-0 victory against a quality Eagles squad. The HFL B-Team is now 4-2 on the season, and looks to pick up its fifth win against Newark at home on October 5th at 12:00PM.