The Shadow
LOW MOOR- On Friday night, October 6, the Alleghany Cougars played their first-ever Homecoming game at Casey Field against the Carroll County Cavaliers. From the opening kickoff, it was evident the Cougars had licked the wounds of the Radford game and were ready to seize the opportunity to devour their Homecoming prey. They were successful.
The Cavaliers received the ball first, but the Cougars refused to let them gain any ground on the field. It was a standard set high early on and a standard they kept throughout the 48-minute game.
Defense was on fire! The Knighton brothers racked up 9 tackles between the two of them, Hayden nabbing 6 by himself, while his brother, Hunter took the rest. Hunter DePriest racked up 5 tackles, Andrew Cole had 4, Greg Rice had 3, and several players had TFL’s: Gavin Via, Sarge Persinger, and Evin Chapman — whose brother Nate Chapman got in both a quarterback sack and a tackle. Xzavier Hayslett — whose offense was incredible by its own merit — swiped up a fumble late in the game, preventing any further yards for the Cavaliers who were past the midway point down the field.
Not to be outshined by the defense, the offense came ready to rumble in Friday night’s epic game against the Cavaliers. Quarterback Des Jordan arguably had his best game all season going 9/12 with 172 yards, 2 pass touchdowns, and 5 rushes for 64 yards. He danced around the line of scrimmage like a master, outsmarting the defense and rushing for a first down while surrounded by a swarm of Cavaliers. Xzavier “X” Hayslett also rose to the occasion, completing 4 receptions for 58 yards, catching one pass one-handed over the head of a defensive player during the first quarter. Purcel Turner also had an amazing night with 3 receptions for 183 yards, 2 pass TD’s, 3 rushes for 14 yards, and a rushing touchdown.
The Cougars ended the first quarter with a score of 14-0 on the board. The second quarter also resulted with no points being put on the scoreboard, while Alleghany racked up another 20 points, bringing the score to 34-0 going into halftime.
The Alleghany Cougar band marched onto the field with the Color Guard during halftime for the presentation of homecoming royalty and to announce the first-ever Homecoming King and Queen for the newly merged high school. Varsity football player, #21, Rocklynn Phillips was crowned king, while Taylor Scott was crowned queen.
Then it was back on the field for more football! Early in the third quarter, Hunter DePriest ran in a 90-yard kick return, and it wasn’t the first time. DePriest ran in a 90-yard kickoff return in the first play of the game during week 2 when the Alleghany Cougars took on the Fort Defiance Indians.
Soon after, it was J’yon Smith’s turn to gain some yards for the Cougars when he carried the ball for about 20 yards, gaining an Alleghany first down that led to a touchdown by Carter Nicely. The score was then 47-0 with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter.
Aside from the fumble recovery by Xzavier “X” Hayslett, the rest of the game was fairly uneventful, with neither team putting any more points on the board, ending the game with the Alleghany Cougars, 47, and the Carroll County Cavaliers being shut out with 0 points on the board.
The Alleghany Cougars’ next game will be an away game against Glenvar at 7:00 pm on Friday the 13th. We wish them luck, applauding their hard work and current 5-1 record!
Game stats:
Des Jordan: 9/12 for 172 yards, 2 pass TD’s, and 5 rushes for 64 yards
Neeko Jeter: 7 rushes for 41 yards, 2 rush TD’s
Purcel Turner: 3 receptions for 183 yards, 2 pass TD’s, 3 rushes for 14 yards, and 1 rush TD
Xzavier “X” Hayslett: 4 receptions for 58 yards, including 2 incredible catches, one of which he caught one-handed over a defender, and a fumble recovery
Hunter DePriest: a reception for a yard, 1 rush for 12 yards, a 90-yard kick return TD, and 5 tackles
J’yon Smith: 2 rushes for 31 yards
Hunter Knighton: 6 tackles
Gavin Via: 1 rush for 5 yards, 2 tackles, 1 TFL
