Cougars Suffer Disappointing Loss
For the second time in as many weeks, the Piedmont Academy football team suffered a disappointing Region 4-AA setback.
The Cougars fell to the Flint River Wildcats on the road last Friday 21-8 and now must battle the remainder of the regular season for a No. 2 playoff seed. The loss dropped Piedmont to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in region play.
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“We just couldn’t get anything going—offensively or defensively, said Cougars coach Charlie Lane. “That’s where games are won and lost. It was heartbreaking to see us lose that one.”
Piedmont was not at full strength as starting running back Jeremy Reese was out of action with a shoulder injury. Fellow running back Daniel Beckham was able to play, but Lane said the senior was not at full speed.
The Cougars trailed 14-0 at halftime although Lane said it should been 6-0.
Flint River went on a quick drive in the final minute to stretch the lead to two scores.
Flint River took the second half kickoff and went on another march down the field. When faced with fourth and goal, the Wildcats elected for a field goal attempt which was blocked by Frank Christian. Beckham then picked up the football and raced the length of the field for a score to pull Piedmont to within 14-8.
“Normally, that type of play is going to swing the momentum in your favor,” Lane said. “However, it didn’t happen for us in this game. We couldn’t move the football the rest of the game. We had some chances and some bright spots in the game, but it just didn’t happen at the end.”
The Cougars will try to rebound this week when they travel to Forsyth to play Monroe Academy. The Mustangs, coached by former Cougar coach Ted McMichael, are somewhat of a mystery this season.
“You can’t really tell much from their record (2-5 overall),” Lane said.
“They played several AAA schools to start the season and then some weaker AA schools. You really don’t know just how good they are. Regardless, we have to get our heads on straight this week and be ready to play.”
Lane said Reese should be able to return to action Friday although he will not be 100 percent.
“Monroe likes to run the football,” said Lane.
“They have two quality running backs. They have good size on the line of scrimmage so they have some talent to work with.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.