THE SPORTS DESK
Region I, Div. 4 Football: Scoring spurt leads Courtland
COUGARS TOP WARHILL WITH TWO SCORES IN SPAN OF ABOUT 90 SECONDS
BY NICK ST. DENIS
Courtland and Warhill played a full 48 minutes of football Friday night, but their Region I, Division 4 playoff bout was essentially decided in a brief 1:32 span.
With just under five minutes to go in the third quarter, Courtland scored through the air, grabbed an interception on the next play from scrimmage and found the end zone again a little more than a minute later.
The Cougars went on to win 21–7.
“We got momentum after that [stretch], and after that it was just a matter of sustaining it,” Courtland coach J.C. Hall said.
With the victory, Courtland advances to the second round of postseason play, traveling to Chancellor next weekend to take on the top-ranked Chargers.
“Our kids know the magnitude of [next week’s] game,” Hall said. “Not only because of who we’re playing, but what we’re playing for.”
In a fourth-and-18 situation from the 24-yard line, Eric Washington and Kyle Talley connected for an improbable touchdown strike to open the scoring, and Anton Jenkins found pay dirt on a 31-yard scamper to quickly put the Cougars up 14–0.
Patrick Edwards’ interception was sandwiched by the two third-quarter scores.
Jenkins, who finished the game with 150 yards rushing, carried much of the load in the second half and scored on a 4-yard run to rebuild a two-touchdown gap after Warhill’s DeVonte Dedmon reached the end zone on a 54-yard rush.
Courtland sprinkled in just the right amount of Darien Grant and Josh Howard on the ground as well, using Grant’s outside speed in the second half to stretch the perimeter and soften up the middle for Jenkins.
Courtland totaled 302 yards on the ground.
“I just have to thank my offensive line for that,” Jenkins said.
Courtland fumbled three times in the first half, losing two of them. However, the defense stood stout throughout.
Courtland linebacker Matt Knowles was all over Warhill’s offensive backfield, recording two sacks in the first half.
“He’s very instinctive, very intelligent and quick,” Hall said. “And that helps.”
Anthony Robinson also finished the game with a pair of sacks, and Jared Fehrens added a quarterback-takedown of his own.
Talley had an interception on defense to go along with his offensive score.
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Warhill 0 0 0 7 — 7
Courtland 0 0 14 7 — 21
Third Quarter
Ct-K. Talley 24-yard pass from E. Washington (S. Yurgel kick)
Ct-A. Jenkins 31-yard run (S. Yurgel kick)
Fourth Quarter
Ct-A. Jenkins 4-yard run (S. Yurgel kick)
Wa-D. Dedmon 54-yard run (E. McCoy kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Wa Ct
First downs8 10
Rushing yardage31-170 47-302
Passing yardage62 54
Passes6-17-2 3-5-0
Punts-Avg.5-35.0 5-29.6
Fumbles-lost1-0 3-2
Penalties-yards4-40 4-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Courtland—Anton Jenkins 24-150, 2TD; Darien Grant 8-81; Josh Howard 10-62; Eric Washington 5-9. Warhill—DeVonte Dedmon 19-119, TD; Reggie Lipscomb 9-50; Seth Thompson 3-1.
Passing: Courtland—Eric Washington 3-5-0 54, TD. Warhill—Seth Thompson 5-13-1 44; DeVonte Dedmon 1-4-1 18.
Receiving: Courtland—Kyle Talley 1-24, TD; Patrick Edwards 1-22; Zach Braswell 1-8. Warhill—Charlie Broaddus 2-30; Kennedy Barbour 1-15; Seth Mallory 2-11; DeVonte Dedmon 1-6.
Nick St. Denis: 540/374-5441
sports@freelancestar.com
