The Newton County Cougars did everything but win on Friday night.
The Cougars gave a solid defensive effort and ran the ball well but had a kick blocked late in the fourth quarter as Kosciusko held on to take a 14-13 win on Friday night.
The Cougars fall to 1-1 on the season and will take on Morton this week.
Second-year coach Bobby Bass said the Cougars played well enough to win.
“We played exceptionally hard, hard enough to win,” Bass said. “We played well on defense and contained some good weapons that Kosciusko has. I was proud of how we played. We had a good game plan going in. Even on offense, we moved the ball up and down the field, we just came up short on some drives. We just have to finish drives. We have to execute better in key moments when we get under pressure.”
Kosciusko got the ball to start the game and moved 66 yards in 14 plays as the Whippets scored on a 5-yard run with 6:02 left in the first quarter. The PAT was good and the Whippets led 7-0.
The Cougars answered right back as they put together an 11-play drive and got a 32-yard field goal from Lee Hill with nine seconds left in the first quarter.
After forcing a Kosciusko punt, the Cougars were pinned deep in their own territory at the 8. But a big 72-yard run by Carlois Walker gave the Cougars ball deep in Kosciusko territory. But the drive stalled and the Cougars settled for a 37-yard field goal by Hill with 8:22 left in the first half.
“We have come a long way, we just came up a little short,” Bass said. “We lost one of our best lineman with a broken leg on the first play of the game. The other kids stepped up with him being out. I was pleased with our effort. We had the opportunity to win but didn’t execute in a couple of key situations. We rushed for 230 yard but just stalled out in the red zone.”
County took the lead late in the third period when they pinned Kosciusko deep in their own territory. The Whippets snapped the ball over the punter’s head and Carlonte Walker recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. Hill booted the PAT and County led 13-7.
But that lead was short lived as the Whippets used a 10-play, 51-yard drive to take a 14-13 lead.
The Cougars put together a long drive late in the fourth but Hill had a 32-yard field goal blocked as Kosciusko preserved the win.
“Our kids understood that we could have won that game,” Bass said. “I thought Lee kicked it well. We just didn’t step down like we were supposed to on the line and they were able to come through and block it. He was upset about it getting block and I tried to tell him that he had a great game. He was a weapon for us. He is continually getting better and going to be a huge part of our team. He is wanting to get better and be coached.”
The Cougars had 268 yards of total offense with 33 passing and 235 yards rushing.
Carlois Walker had 185 yards rushing on 25 carries while Dayvion May had 38 yards on 11 carries.
On defense, Colin Crowder had nine solo tackles and 10 assists. Miguel Evans had five solo tackles and five assists. Kaleb Blackwell had two solo tackles, six assists and two tackles for loss while Will Hillman had two solo tackles and seven assists. Koye Hardaway had three solo stops, three assists and a fumble recovery.
