The Shadow
On Friday night, November 10, the Alleghany Cougars laced up their cleats, donned their blue-on-blue uniforms, and took to the field for one last time this inaugural season. Not knowing it would be their final time on the field, of course, the boys poured onto the football field like an army of knights geared up for battle on the castle grounds.
The game got off to a decent start. There was a lot of back-and-forth, lots of trading the ball around without anyone really putting any points on the board. However, that would soon change when Rustburg scored the first touchdown of the game with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Red Devils then attempted a 2-point-conversion, but would be shut down, thanks to the combined efforts of seniors Caleb Walden and Rocklynn Phillips.
Shortly after, the Alleghany Cougars answered back with a touchdown of their own. Mason Hale then kicked the extra point in to give the Cougars a slight lead over the Red Devils. Very early in the second quarter, the Cougars just edged out the Red Devils in a 7-6 lead.
Minutes later, the Cougars were moving down the field once again toward the goal line. Des Jordan, on fire all night despite the game’s outcome, completed a pass to Purcel Turner that led to an Alleghany Cougars touchdown! Following Mason Hale’s successful kick, they were up 14-6 with 5:04 remaining in the first half of the ballgame.
Before halftime, Des Jordan completed a pass to Hunter Knighton that resulted in another Alleghany Cougars touchdown! With 2:46 remaining in the first half of the game, the Cougars were up 21-6. This would wind up being their largest margin.
26 seconds later, Rustburg answered back with a touchdown. Once again, they would attempt a 2-point conversion and once again, it would prove unsuccessful. Still, they were gaining ground, putting the score at 21-12 with 2:20 remaining in the first half of the ballgame.
With 32.3 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, the Rustburg Red Devils scored again. As in both times prior, they attempted the 2-point conversion and fell short. Alleghany held onto the lead going into halftime 21-18.
After a mostly scoreless third quarter, Rustburg finally brought in a touchdown with 4:04 remaining on the clock, putting them ahead of the Cougars for the second time. This time, the 2-point conversion attempt was good, and the score was 21-26 in favor of the Red Devils. It would be the only score by either team for the third quarter.
Early into the 4th quarter, Rustburg scored another touchdown, but would fail at getting the 2-point conversion. With 9:47 remaining in the game, Rustburg was ahead 32-21. However, it wouldn’t take long for the Cougars to answer back with a touchdown of their own after Des Jordan made successful contact with X in the endzone. Alleghany then attempted their own 2-point conversion, but were unsuccessful, putting the score at 32-27 in Rustburg’s favor.
With 4:18 remaining in the game, Rustburg scored their final touchdown of the game, leaving the score 40-27. Alleghany would then get a safety with mere seconds left on the clock, cementing the final score of the game: Rustburg Red Devils 40, Alleghany Cougars 29.
For an inaugural season, it would be impossible to expect better from this impressive team of athletes. So many theorized they wouldn’t be able to play together because of their years of rivalry, but they came together as one, united a town, rallied team spirit, painted an entire county blue, and proved all the nay-sayers wrong. All that, and —according to a source—they have an average GPA of 3.0. Heart, athleticism, and intelligence. They ended their first season with an impressive record of 9-1, sailing all the way to the playoffs!
Dalton Nelson’s (JV) mom, Nichole Benedict, wished to add, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success! You guys made us all proud. Congratulations on a great season!”
Junior Gavin Via said, “Thank you seniors! We couldn’t have accomplished what we did this season without you, and you will definitely be missed next year. Going into the first year as a new school and team, everyone just got along great and bonded and as team from the get-go. We thought we could win every game on our schedule and did all but that one. Last night’s game didn’t end like we wanted it to, but we fought hard to the end…”
Via’s father, Ricky, added, “I think we had a great season. We knew this team could be special and they didn’t disappoint us. We wish last night’s game would have gone our way, but these boys can’t hang their heads because they were awesome all year. Just proud of every one of them.”
Junior J’yon Smith added this about his team: “They’re a great group of guys to be around every day. We did nothing but push each other and we gave it our all.”
Finally, senior Purcel Turner —who historically scored the first Alleghany Cougars touchdown during opening kickoff at the first game — said, “I’m so proud to have been a part of this team! It’s a brotherhood. We will look back years from now and say, ‘Look at what we did!’ When people counted us out and our backs were against the wall, we prevailed. Go Cougars!”
Quick Stats:
Purcel Turner- 6 rushes for 33 yards, 1 rush TD, 5 receptions for 139 yards, 1 TD
Neeko Jeter- 9 rushes for 44 yards
Andrew Cole- 5 tackles, 2 TFL’s
