Cougars overcome Falcons, move to 7-1
Featured Stories, Sports, Team FYN Sports October 19, 2020
The Copper Basin Cougars (6-1, 2-0 ) hosted The Northwest Falcons (2-5,0-0) for the Cougars 5th non region matchup of the season.
Northwest came into the game looking for a win after falling to Sale Creek last week. Their only wins coming against Skipstone Academy and the Greenwood Raptors.
Copper Basin had also lost their previous game against McMinn Central but have won the rest of their games this season. Beating Polk County, Georgia Force Christian, Sale Creek, Tellico Plains, Whitwell, and Lookout Valley.
The whole game was a defensive battle. Both teams got after it defensively and both teams really struggled moving the ball up and down the field consistently. Copper Basins defense was led by Senior Tim Fair and Senior Tim Jabaley. The Falcons were led by Defensive end Tristan Johnson and Cornerback Domonick Byrd, who had 2 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown, which was the only score the Falcons could get throughout the entire game. The Cougars did not allow the Falcons to get into the end zone the entire game.
The Cougars did score early on a 2 yard touchdown early in the first quarter by Jonathan Johnson. Early in the second quarter Dawson Worthy found AJ Miles for a 35 yard touchdown but after that failed to find the end zone. The Cougars really struggled to move the ball most of the game and threw three interceptions.
The Falcons struggled to move the ball on offense as well and never got a good drive going throughout the whole game. They did catch some momentum late in the fourth quarter but was stopped on fourth down at midfield by the Cougars to seal the victory.
The Cougars will host Fannin County this Friday. This will be the first time since 1997 that these two teams have played.
Copper Basin shuts out Lookout Valley, moves to 6-0
Team FYN Sports October 4, 2020
The photos in this article are courtesy of Penny Montgomery
The Copper Basin Cougars (6-0, 3-0) travelled down to Chattanooga on Friday night to play a region matchup against the Lookout Valley Yellowjackets (2-5, 0-2).
Lookout Valley entered the game on a four game losing skid, falling to South Pittsburg, Brainerd, Coosa and Huntland in the weeks before.
Copper Basin was riding an undefeated high, as they had beaten every opponent they had faced, but they were also coming off of a couple weeks where they had not played a game because of COVID-19 protocols.
Things were a little sloppy for the Cougars in the opening quarter of the game, and you could tell they had been out of commission for a few weeks. They finally got things rolling though as they went into halftime with a 15-0 lead over the Jackets.
Starting Cougars Quarterback Bryson Grabowski was however injured in the first half of the game and did not return to action. It is hoped that he will return in the next week or two.
The Cougars Defense held strong the whole game. They pitched a shutout and Basin won 21-0.
The defense was led by Timmy Fair, who had 9.5 tackles and 2 tackles for loss in the game. Eli Patterson and Addison Hook both recovered a fumble for the Cougars, while Patterson tallied 3.5 tackles and 2 tackles for loss and Hook tacking on 4.5 tackles. Larry Dye and Joe Boggs were two more cornerstones for the defense, having 8 tackles and 8.5 tackles, respectfully.
The offense was a little quiet on Friday night, especially after Grabowski went out, but Sebastian Baliles kept them going, compiling 19 carries for 163 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Grabowski was 1/2 through the air for 38 yards and 1 touchdown while racking up 31 yards with his feet.
Joe Boggs came in for Grabowski, going 1/3 for 18 yards. Boggs also ran for 18 yards.
The Cougars are set to play at McMinn Central next week, where they will look to remain undefeated on the year.
The Cougars are currently ranked first in 1A region 3.