The HFL Youth Cougars Football C Team has made a habit of playing very stingy defense this season. The Cougars dominant defense made its presence known right away in its home game against Dundee on Sunday. After pushing Dundee backwards on the first two plays of the game, HFL forced a fumble on third down, and Carson Joint swiftly recovered it for the Cougars. Following a long sweep by Drew Angelo, Preston Yates ran it in for a touchdown. Angelo tacked on an extra point to make the score 7-0 HFL. The HFL defense continued to hold strong, forcing the ball over on down on the next Dundee series. The Cougars displayed their aerial attack capabilities in the form of a long Matt Meacham pass to Nolan Smith on the very first play in their next series. This pass set up the HFL offense with a short field, and Carson Joint broke loose up the middle for a rushing score, extending the Cougars lead to 13-0.

As if that start wasn’t difficult enough for Dundee, they misplayed the ensuing kickoff and HFL Special Teams standout Donnell Hall recovered the ball deep in Dundee territory. Nolan Smith wasted no time in making the Jr. Scots pay for that mistake, rushing for HFL’s third touchdown on the day, making the score 19-0. HFL’s defense continued to shut down the Dundee offense throughout the first half. Carson Joint stripped a Dundee runner of the ball, putting HFL back in position for another score. Donnell Hall streaked down the sideline on another HFL rushing touchdown late in the second quarter. Matt Meacham added an extra point pass to Landon Hammond, making the score 26-0 going into halftime.

The second half would see Dundee making effective adjustments not only to their defense, but were also able to muster some scoring drives of their own in the second half. After making their first first down of the game early in the second half, Dundee would light up the scoreboard with a TD, cutting the HFL lead to 26-7. After giving up a big run by Troy Mooney, and a big pass play to Hammond, the Jr. Scots held HFL for the first time on the day, gaining the ball back on downs. Dundee then displayed an effective power running game, driving the ball 80 yards for their next score, making it a 26-13 game early in the 4th quarter. Despite the significant swing in momentum, the Cougars were able to settle things down and cruise the rest of the way for the win. Nolan Smith, Jack Harvey, Troy Mooney, and Austyn Crego made some big defensive stops for HFL down the stretch. The C Team finished the season with 6 wins and 2 losses. It was a great season overall, and HFLYFC looks forward to seeing the boys back in action next year!