Cougars Defeat Westwood Excitingly
Coach Mike Parris has been involved in many memorable games in his long coaching career but last Friday’s contest between Piedmont Academy and Westwood may have immediately vaulted near the top.
The Cougars took a 15-14 victory after a late successful two-point conversion in a battle between two evenly-matched teams. The win improved Piedmont to 2-0-1 for the 2018 season.
“It was exciting and we were glad to get the win,” Parris said. “However, I must say we didn’t play very well in the first half. We fumbled the football and gave up a long touchdown pass. It was frustrating the way we played in the first two quarters. However, in the second half we were able to put some things together.”
Quarterback Tate Marks was a dual threat running and passing and also connected with J.T. Webb for what turned out to be the game winning two-point conversion.
Logan Conner continued his effective play with 56 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Owen Brady had 30 yards on 13 rushes. Payton Wallace also had a standout game with a key 23-yard reception.
Parris said the decision to go for the two-point conversion after pulling to within a point basically came down to not wanting to deal with overtime.
“We just figured we would try and go for it,” the coach said. “We don’t get to work two much on kicking in practice. Typically your kicker will work on his own during practice but we aren’t able to do that. So many things can go wrong from an injury standpoint if you play overtime. You don’t ever know what might happen in terms of an injury.”
Defensively Webb had seven tackles and six assists while Conner finished with eight tackles and seven assists. Brady also had a strong performance on the defensive side of the football with five tackles and three assists.
Parris said an unsung hero on defense in the victory against Westwood was Tanner Locklear.
“He did an outstanding job,” his coach said. “His effort allowed us to be successful on defense.”
Parris will lead his team against Terrell Academy this Friday in another 7:30 p.m. home game.
Terrell enters the contest with confidence after earning its first win last week in a 28-21 game with Edmund Burke. Previously Terrell has lost to The Heritage School 36-10, Tiftarea Academy 55-11 and Brookwood 42-7.
“Terrell is a very good team,” Parris said. “They will be the best team we’ve faced and may be one of the best we face all season. They are big and physical. Their quarterback can run and throw and do a lot of things well. You can tell that by watching the film of their games.”
Cutting down on mistakes will be one key for the Cougars in the matchup.
“We can’t do the things we’ve been doing and beat a good team like Terrell,” Parris said. “We will have to play error free football.”
Through three games this season several players have been key contributors for Piedmont. Webb continues to be a force on both sides of the football and in the previous week’s game against Thomas Jefferson he recorded 16 tackles with eight assists.
Conner and Brady are also compiling impressive defensive stats. Conner has 12 tackles and seven assists against Thomas Jefferson two weeks ago while Brady had 11 tackles and five assists. Both players then followed those efforts with strong outings against Westwood last Friday.
Dylan Coe has emerged as a threat at receiver. He posted 88 yards receiving in the Thomas Jefferson contest two weeks ago.
“We are pleased to be 2-0-1 but we need to keep working to get better,” Parris said. “We are really going to be tested this week.”