JV Cougars so far 1-0 on season

By MASON CLARK

The Patriot

The middle school and varsity Cougar teams have each played three games so far. But the JV Cougars haven’t been as fortunate. To this point, the younger Cougars have only gotten to play about half of a game. The good news though is that they made the most of the little time they have been on the field, with a 31-6 win (the game was cut short by lightning) over Northside. The Cougars were simply a far better team in every phase of the game. The offense was clicking and executing well and scored on each of their five possessions. while the defense shut down Northside for all but one drive.

The Cougars got the ball first and wasted little time. Trevor Gallimore ran for 13, Kaden Hatch tan for 11, and Gallimore finished it off with a short touchdown run to make it 7-0 after Bryant Nottingham knocked through the PAT. The defense then came on and forced the Vikings to go three and out. With a short field, Cole Boone did much of the work this possession, running for 9 on the first play, and then catching a 25-yard touchdown pass from Nottingham, before Nottingham’s PAT moved the score to 14-0.

Northside went to the air on their next possession, and a Viking pass attempt was intercepted by Trevor Gallimore. This time, however, the Cougars were kept out of the end zone. Nottingham continued to show his outstanding kicking ability, drilling a 30-yard field goal with room to spare to move the score to 17-0.

The second quarter began. Another three and out was forced by the defense. The Cougars then mixed in some pass, with Nottingham completing a pretty pass on a slant route to Chase Lawrence, a Hatch run for 16 and then another for 26. The next play wasn’t exactly how the Cougar coaching staff drew it up, as a fumbled pitch was picked up by Gallimore but he still took it in from 20 yards out to make the score 24-0 after Nottingham’s PAT.

Northside got going on offense, with a few good pass plays moving the football to the 3 yard line where the Viking quarterback took it in to make it 24-6. But the Vikings could not stop the Cougar offensive attack. Gallimore and Bryant each had first down runs, Nottingham threw a beautiful over-the-shoulder pass to Lawrence who made a nice catch to set up Gallimore’s third score of the night. 31-6 is where the game left off.

Trevor Gallimore was the man of the night for the Cougars, running 11 times for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as several tackles on defense. Nottingham went 3/4 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown, very efficient numbers passing. He also rushed twice for 33 yards, was 4/4 on PAT kicks, and hit a 30-yard field goal and a few tackles, a spectacular performance for the freshman. Cole Boone ran 3 times for 13 yards, did good in coverage, and hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass. Freshman Karen Hatch also rushed 3 times for 53 yards and blocked very well too. Chase Lawrence caught 2 passes for 48 yards. Defensively, several players were outstanding.

Freshman Savion Thompson is a stud at defensive end. Gavin Lytton, Lawrence, Noah Hinkley, Chase King, Blake Ratcliffe, Nottingham and Cole Boone, as well as his twin brother Skylor were in one tackles during the game. The defense allowed just 3 fidst downs all night and 6 points.

The JV Cougars are scheduled to play on Thursday the 15th at Christiansburg. For those who are able, make the trip to support the JV Cougars!