Never Say Die: Cougars Rally, But Fall Short to Elizabethton
Coach Justin Anderson anticipated that Friday night's game against Elizabethton would be a 48-minute battle between his Northview Academy Cougars and the visiting Cyclones. However, the Cougars failed to take advantage of a few crucial opportunities, which ultimately led to Elizabethton's 31-20 victory.
"Ya'll grew up tonight, you played 4 quarters of good football tonight. That's a good football team, they've been an east Tennessee powerhouse for the last 15 years." Anderson told his team following the game.
"I felt like our kids did a great job tonight, we competed, we're very limited on what we can do on offense but we executed very well." Anderson said on his teams efforts.
The Cyclones were able to turn the ball over on downs on the first Cougars drive that had marched to the midfield area before stopping quarterback Hayden Mitchell on a 4th down and short rush.
Elizabethton capitalized on their momentum to advance down the field, but Northview responded with a crucial series of plays. After the Cyclones pushed the ball to the 2-yard line with a goal-to-go situation, Northview delivered four huge stops, forcing a turnover on downs.
Northview advanced the ball out of the shadow of their own endzone on a series of runs featuring Wade Watkins, Kaysaun Woodson, and quarterback Mitchell.
The Cougars moved the ball to the 15-yard line, but on 3rd down, the Cyclones forced a fumble after both quarterback Mitchell and running back Watkins slipped on the turf during the handoff attempt, allowing Elizabethton to gain possession on the NVA 12-yard line.
The Northview defense would once again step up to the challenge, forcing the Cyclones into a 32-yard field goal attempt.
Elizabethton sent Iowa State commit William Bowers to attempt a 32-yard field goal at the start of the 2nd quarter, and he successfully made the kick, giving the Cyclones an early 3-0 lead just seconds into the quarter.
Northview took over on their next possession and marched down the field on the back and legs of Elijah Cates, and Woodson as the Cougars found plenty of room to rush in the Cyclones defense.
Woodson rushed down to the goal line before Mitchell punched it in from 1 yard out, and with the successful PAT from Lanell Strom, the Cougars led 7-3 with 5:24 remaining in the half.
Elizabethton fielded the ensuing kickoff return down to the Cougars' 5-yard line, snatching the momentum away from the Northview sideline and looking to regain the lead heading into the half.
After a series of penalties on the Cyclones had backed Elizabethton up to the 19-yard line, quarterback Peyton Lingerfelt found the corner for the touchdown on the 19-yard QB option run. The PAT from Bowers was true, and with 4:16 remaining in the half, Elizabethton had regained the lead 10-7.
The Cougars would once again gain a first down, but the drive would stall on their own 37-yard line before being forced to punt the ball away to the Cyclones with 1:51 remaining in the half.
Elizabethton gained a pair of first downs to the Northview 29 before a huge sack from Watkins at the 32-yard line gave Northview the ball back with 50.5 seconds left in the half.
The Cougars opted to go with Keeyon Woodson for the start of the drive; however, the snap sailed through his hands, and Elizabethton recovered on the NVA 8-yard line, setting them up within striking distance with 40 seconds remaining in the half.
"I had put Keeyon in at quarterback because they had walked up into man coverage and he can really throw the ball, it's not anyones fault, I probably shouldn't have thrown a freshman into that situation. but you have to take chances in games like this and give yourself a chance to win." Anderson stated on the pivotal fumble before the half.
The Cyclones' William McDuffie scored from 1 yard out on 2nd down, giving Elizabethton the 17-7 lead heading into the halftime break.
The NVA defense once again stepped up to the challenge, getting a big 4-and out and with the poor punt from the Cyclones, Northview took over on their first drive of the 2nd half on the Elizabethton 46 yard line.
Once more, the Cougars utilized runs by Woodson and Watkins to advance down the field, culminating in Kaysaun Woodson's 9-yard rushing touchdown through the center of the Elizabethton defense. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving Elizabethton ahead 17-13 with 7:15 left in the 3rd quarter.
"Kaysaun is special, he's just a sophomore. He's just a hard-nosed runner, runs with good pad level and plays hard." Anderson stated on his sophomore running back Woodson.
Elizabethton used a 4-minute, 12-play drive to answer on their ensuing drive to push the Cyclones' lead out to 24-13 with 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Northview looked to answer back using a 46 yard run on 3rd down, from Mitchell to set the Cougars up in the Cyclones end of the field as the clock expired to end the 3rd quarter.
The Cougars would cap the drive with 6 yard touchdown rush from Elijah Cates and following the successful PAT, Elizabethton led 24-20 with 9:49 remaining in the contest.
Lingerfelt was able to once again break free and take it 24 yards on 2nd down for the Cyclones down to the Cougars 6 yard line, looking to his team the touchdown to put the Cougars away.
Lingerfelt was able to cap the drive on 3rd down, with another 5-yard rushing touchdown, the PAT from Bowers was good and the Cyclones led 31-20 with 5:49 remaining in the game.
Northview was forced to punt the ball away after a 4 and out drive after a penalty set the Cougars back and handing the ball back over to Elizabethton.
Both teams would touch the ball for one more series but nothing would come from either possession, giving Elizabethton the 31-20 victory in a crucial region game.
Northview drops to 3-3 overall, and 1-2 in region play, while Elizabethton moves to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in region play.
The Cougars next travel to Volunteer on Friday evening for yet another huge region game against the Falcons. Volunteer will enter the contest with an identical record 3-3 overall and 1-2 in region play.
"It's going to be a tough situation. Coach Wagner does a great job at Volunteer and has them rolling and believing in what he's got going on. Every game from here on out is going to be a dogfight because we're fighting for a playoff spot."
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