Cougars To Play for Region Title
Piedmont Academy moved another step closer to winning its sixth consecutive region football championship by defeating Community Christian 30-8 Friday.
The Cougars, who remained undefeated in region action on Senior Night, continued their solid play in recent weeks and now have a chance to earn a No. 1 seed for the state playoffs.
“You always want to peak at the right time,” said coach Rhett Farmer. “You want to play well when it matters, which is in region games and in the playoffs. Your non-region games are basically scrimmages. They count toward your record, but they are mainly used to prepare you for region.”
The tone for the game was set on the first possession for both teams. Community Christian took the opening kickoff and began in Cougar territory at the 39. The Knights, however, would turn the football over on downs following a key tackle by Seth Harvey. By the time the game was over, Harvey had recorded 12 tackles, four which resulted in negative yards.
Piedmont’s offense then put together one of its best drives of the season moving 80 yards in 16 plays capped by a 1-yard run by quarterback Hunter Knox for the score. The Cougars picked up five first downs on the series, which ended on the first play of the second quarter.
“That got us off to the right start,” Farmer said. “That was the best drive of the season by far for us.”
A quarterback sack by Harvey helped end Community Christian’s second drive and forced a punt on fourth and 25. Piedmont then took over inside Knight territory at the 40-yard line and put another touchdown on the board on a 4-yard run by Dylan Efird. The Cougars added the 2-point conversion on a pass from Knox to Mills Smith with 7:03 left in the first half.
It appeared Piedmont had taken complete control of the game, but the visiting Knights stayed alive on a 13-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left before halftime.
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Farmer’s team took the opening series of the second half, however, and re-established control of the game on a 57-yard drive culminating on a 28-yard run by Knox. Cameron Hammock added the 2-point conversion for a 22-8 advantage.
Community Christian’s first three possessions of the second half ended on two punts and an unsuccessful fourth down attempt. The Knights also threw an interception as Ben Davis made a strong defensive play for the Cougars late in the game.
“It took us a while to get settled in,” said defensive coordinator Jeff Kent. “They tried some new things on us. You like to start a game better defensively but we did make a stop on their first series and gave our offense the football.”
In addition to Harvey’s strong play, MacKenzie Brittain finished with 11 tackles while Chris Cain and Malik Reid both had nine stops.
Kent said on the lone score by the Knights, there was a communication breakdown.
“We made the necessary adjustments at halftime,” Kent said. “It was a good win. However, it’s hard to focus on the win with such an important game coming up this Friday.”
Piedmont’s offense added its final score of the night with 6:36 left in the third quarter on a 21-yard pass from Knox to Gaven Edge. The Cougars then completed a trick extra point play resulting in two more points on a catch by Hammock.
Farmer said it was good to have Edge back in the lineup.
“Some of our drives in the fourth quarter were disappointing,” the coach said. “We were trying to run the clock and we weren’t able to sustain drives.”
Overall, however, Farmer said the team’s offensive line played well Friday. Zach Wilson anchored the line at center and has played well since moving to that position.
Wilson moved to center after Mike Weatherly was hurt. Weatherly’s hand injury prevented him from snapping the football but he has been excelling at guard.
“If he hadn’t been hurt, we wouldn’t have made those changes,” Farmer said “It was something that worked out in an odd way.”
Payden Cantera has also been a factor for the Cougars of late at several spots including nose guard, defensive tackle, linebacker and tight end. “We are getting some depth back,” Farmer said.
Knox, who played at quarterback the entire game Friday, is also back to full strength. He finished with 120 yards rushing and two scores on 17 carries and also threw for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively in the victory against Community Christian, Harvey continued his strong play.
Piedmont is now preparing to host Flint River Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Cougar Field. The winner will be Region 4-AA champion and be a No. 1 seed for the playoffs. The Cougars have now win three games in a row after playing what was arguably the toughest non-region schedule in the state.
The Flint River Wildcats enter the game also undefeated in region after defeating Dominion Christian 41-20 last week. Flint River also defeated Community Christian 14-7 in region play.
Farmer said the Wildcats use the jet sweep as their primary play.
“They have great skill people,” the coach said of this week’s opponent. “They are loaded with seniors who can run. They have solid speed overall and have a great quarterback.”
Piedmont will be going for its sixth region title in as many years as a program. Farmer said the players know there is an expectation to win region each fall.
“Our seniors are going for their fourth in a row,” Farmer said. “Flint River knows what it’s like to be in the position as we played them for the region title last year. We have been finding our identity offensively. A lot of our struggles early came when we were trying to do too much offensively. Defensively, we have been consistent all year. Plus, we are finally getting healthy and that has been a key for us doing well lately.”
Piedmont players will prepare this week for the game which will decide the region champion.
“We know it will be a battle,” Hammock said. “Flint River is a very good team. We’ll have to play well to win. I know we will be up to the challenge.”
Kent said the Piedmont defense will have to be ready to play an all-around solid game.
“They score their points off the jet sweep,” he said. “However, they also do other things well. They will run play action and their quarterback has a good arm. When he gets a full head of steam it’s hard to bring him down. Their offensive line does a good job pass blocking. We will need to be prepared for their no-huddle attack and come up with stops. We feel we have a pretty good idea of what they are going to do.”
STATS
Offense:
•Hunter Knox: 17 carries for 120 yards, 2 TDS; 4-of-7 passing for 58 yards, 1 TD; two 2-point conversion passes
•Cameron Hammock: 17 carries for 91 yards, 2-point conversion catch, 2-point conversion run
•Dylan Efird: 5 rushes for 14 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch for 11 yards
•Gaven Edge: 1 catch for 21 yards, 1 TD
•Mills Smith: 1 catch for 13 yards, one 2-point conversion catch
•Hank Strickland: 1 catch for 8 yards
•Ben Davis: 1 carry for 3 yards
•Chris McClain: 4 carries for 1 yard
Defense:
•Evan Harvey: 12 tackles, 4 for negative yardage
•MacKenzie Brittain: 11 tackles; Malik Reid: 9 tackles; Payden Cantera: 6; Zach Whitwell and Britton Baiey 4 each; Chris McClain and Austin Taylor, 2 tackles; Hank Strickland, Hunter Burson, Wyatt Galloway, and Ben Davis, 1 tackle each. Mr. Davis had 1 interception.