By: Robert Driggers
The Colleton County Cougars traveled to Lexington Friday night looking for their first win of the season against the White Knoll Timberwolves. Unfortunately, the Cougars left Lexington still looking for that first win as White Knoll defeated the Cougars 35-14.
As any coach will tell you, there are three parts to a football team-the offense, the defense, and special teams. It was the area of special teams, especially the punting game, that made critical mistakes during the first half of the game. Those mistakes led directly to turning the ball over in Cougar territory.
“Our mistakes in the kicking game at critical times gave White Knoll excellent field position and put our defense in a bad position. We had 2 shank punts, a blocked punt, and a snap over the punters all in the first half. You cannot make those mistakes against a good team like White Knoll and expect to be successful. Ironically, we spent a lot of time on the punting game last week in practice and did not expect this outcome,” said Coach Kris Howell.
The Cougars actually had more total plays, more third down conversions, and more yardage than the Timberwolves during the game. Quarterback Mykeen Gant continues to improve as he was 21-30 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Dorian Stephens led the team with 6 catches for two touchdowns, while Shawn Winfield caught 4 passes and a touchdown.
Defensively, the team was led by cornerback Javon Graham with 4.5 tackles, with linebacker Jayden Winfield and defensive linemen Demar Bodison adding 4 and 3 tackles respectively.
“We will continue to work on the fundamentals and basics of football. We need to do a better job of coaching, especially in the kicking game,” said Howell.
The Cougars will play at home this Friday night against Ashley Ridge, seeking their first win of the season. This game is designated as the Hall of Fame Game-five new members will be inducted prior to kick-off at 7:30PM.
