By CINDY CROSBY
The Colleton County Cougar varsity football team fell 34-6 against Region VII-AAAA opponent Hilton Head High School on Friday, October 8 while playing on the road.
The Cougars trailed 21-0 at the end of the third quarter. Treveion Magwood put up Colleton County’s only points in the game on a 39-yard pass from quarterback Jackie White (kick failed).
The Cougars recorded 105 total yards of offense, including 36 passing yards and 69 rushing yards, to Hilton Head’s 323 yards. Colleton County had three fumbles on the night and recorded six penalties for 26 yards. White was 3-3 in passing for 36 yards and a touchdown. He rushed 16 times for 40 yards.
“Hilton Head is always very well coached and tough on defense,” said CCHS Cougar Football Coach Kris Howell. “This year is no exception. Jaylen Sneed is every bit as good as they say he is and is clearly deserving of his scholarship to Notre Dame.”
“Defensively, we played very well and improved greatly from the week before versus Bluffton,” said Howell. “Coach Bowers and his coaching staff really went to work and fixed many of the mistakes that were made during the previous game. Our senior defenders led the way with Chris Heirs, Caleb Worthington, Dorian Gant, Cole Smith, Harold Williams, and Tre Fields setting the tone for us. These guys worked very hard in practice this week to make up for the mistakes made against Bluffton.
“On special teams, we had a solid game plan that worked well,” said Howell. “We gave up a blocked punt to Sneed, but it was an exceptionally athletic play that I believe only a player of his caliber could have made. Coach Reid has done a great job so far this year in helping to fix one of the biggest weaknesses that our program had historically.
“As for the offense, we simply made too many mistakes,” said Howell. “We committed too many penalties and put the ball on the ground too often to be effective. However, our young offensive line continues to grow and improve each week. Coach Lyons and Coach Wheeler continue to do an exceptional job with those kids.”
The Cougars (0-2, 0-2) will host Region VII-AAAA opponent James Island High School (2-4, 0-2) on Friday, October 15. “James Island has an exceptional defense,” said Howell. “They are very fundamentally sound, aggressive, and well-coached; therefore, they will be tough to move the ball against. Offensively, they are like us in that they keep the ball on the ground, so our defense will have to continue to improve to slow them down. We look forward to this challenge as we continue to grow this program.”
