Varsity Flag Football Starts Season with Win
Tuesday, March 5 was the first game of the season for the varsity flag football team.
The game was at home against AASD in wet rainy conditions.
The Cougars started on offense. Jackson Barnes (starting QB) had three quick completions and the third completion was a TD pass to Maxwell Lagan. The extra point was another completion, this time to Andrew Dorsey for 2pts. 4 passes for 4 completions to start the season!!
Defense came out next led by Weston Kershner. AASD tried Weston on the first play. Weston played great defense and the pass from AASD went incomplete. Next pass from AASD was incomplete as well because of a great defensive effort by Alyssa Briggs. Andrew Dorsey made his presence known on defense with a great pass deflection to give AASD a fourth down. AASD made a completion on fourth down, but underclassman Davis Bradley was right there to make the tackle and stop AASD short of the first down marker.
Cougars’ second chance on offense was when the rain really started to come down. This made the football very slippery, making it extremely hard to throw and catch the ball. The first play was a big completion from Jackson to Jack Kane for 50 yds and a first down. After the big gain, the rain got the better of the Cougars with four incomplete passes. Turnover on downs by the Cougars.
Then, the defense had another great series. Gabe Belden and Alyssa played good defense on the first two throws of the series to make AASD have two incompletions. On third down Davis Bradley blitzed and put intense pressure on the QB who had to throw it early to avoid the sack. Fourth down had Weston (leader of the defense) in cover to give AASD another incompletion and turnover on downs.
The Cougar offense was back on the field, but the rain was still causing trouble and the first pass to Weston was incomplete. On second down Jackson found Jack Kane for 10 yds. Jackson rolled left on third down and made a good pass to Maxwell for 20 yards and a first down. Jackson then tried to find Andrew, but the rain made it too challenging. However, on second down Jackson had confidence in himself and his teammate and went right back to Andrew for a 10-yard completion. The Cougars were moving the ball when on third down Jackson rolled to the left and threw a 40-yard touchdown bomb to Jack Kane! Maxwell then made the catch for the 2 pt conversion. Cougars now lead 16 – 0.
After the half, AASD did not give up. They started with the ball and opened the half with a great pass for 30 yards. The Cougars then stepped back up on defense. On second down Gabe deflected the pass. On third down AASD got a completion, but Alyssa made the tackle to keep AASD short of the first down. On fourth down Davis put pressure on the QB who threw the ball quicker than he wanted. Weston was there for the interception, which he returned for 50 yards for the touchdown!
The Cougars missed the extra point but led the game 22-0 after the pick 6.
The defense did not have time to catch their breath. On first down Aylssa produced a big pass deflection. On second down Andrew read the QBs eyes and made the second interception of the game, giving the ball back to the Cougars.
Offense saw a minor change. Gavin Akers (starting JV QB) got some quarterback reps on varsity.
The rain was still coming down and made it hard for the Cougars to get a completion. Three incomplete passes and one completion for 10 yards to Jack Kane was all the offense could muster. Turnover on downs.
AASD came out on offense and Gabe Belden had the defensive series of the game. On first down he had a pass deflection. On second down Davis and Gabe both blitzed the QB making him throw the ball to no one! Then Gabe sealed the game with a pick 6 on 3rd down.
One player I want to give a shout out to because you do not see his efforts in the stat book is Colin Barlow. Colin blocked very well for Jackson. There is no stat to show the effort that Colin put in but without it, the offense wouldn’t have functioned as well. Magnificent work Colin!
Cougars win, Cougars win, Cougars WIN!!!
28 to 0 Great start to the season.
Stats:
Jackson Barnes: 10 – 16 2 TDs for 175 yards Two 2pt conversions (16 pts)
Gavin Akers: 1 – 4 for 10 yards
Maxwell Lagan: 4 receptions for 80 yards 1 TD and 2pt conversion (8 pts)
Andrew Dorsey: 3 catches for 35 yards 1 TD 1 Tackle 1 interception One 2pt conversion (2pts)
Jack Kane: 4 Catches for 110 yards 1 TD (6 pts)
Davis Bradley: 2 tackles 3 QB rushes 2 pass deflections.
Alyssa Briggs: 2 tackles 1 pass deflection
Weston Kershner: 2 pass deflections 1 interception for TD (6pts)
Gabe Belden: 1 tackle 1 pass deflection 1 interception for TD (6pts)