Piedmont Earns Win On Homecoming Night

This time the matchup went in favor of the Piedmont Academy football team.

The Cougars (5-1 overall) defeated Thomas Jefferson Academy 28-7 last Friday night and is now in position to host this year’s GISA Class A state championship game. Last Friday’s win avenged, at least to some degree, a loss to the Jaguars in last season’s state title contest.

“It was a huge win,” said coach Will Johnson. “It is certainly the biggest win for us since we have been here. The kids knew the importance of this game. It was a great crowd and was certainly the biggest in my four years.”

The coach said he was proud of his team for overcoming all obstacles and distractions. It was homecoming at the school last week but the team had its best week of preparation this season.

“Once the game arrived, we stayed in the moment and finished the job,” Johnson said. “This was a game we had been thinking about since last December. We let out some frustration.”

The Cougars typically start games fast offensively but was forced to punt after four plays last Friday. The defense, however, stood tall and stopped Thomas Jefferson (5-2) from scoring on multiple trips into the red zone.

“Our defense bailed us out several times,” Johnson said. “Coach Matt Britt did a great job with the game plan and having our players in the right spots to be successful.”

Piedmont then came to life on offense with an 11-play, 98-yard drive. By the time the first half was over the Cougars held a 21-0 advantage.

First half scores for the Cougars came on a touchdown run by Chris Pittman, a 47-yard pass from Pittman to Gavin Mask and a 20-yard pass from Pittman to Tanner Locklear.

“in the first half we had five possessions and scored on three of them,” Johnson said. “Going in we had talked about making the most of our possessions.”

For the game, Piedmont was 6-of-10 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs.

“Thomas Jefferson threatened several times but after we stopped them for the third time the wind went out of their sails,” Johnson said.

It was another standout performance for Pittman who was 9-of-14 for 211 yards and three touchdowns. The senior also rushed for 117 yards and a score on 23 attempts.

His coach noted two of Pittman’s incompletions were dropped passes and two others came when the team spiked the football.

“Chris is simply prepared each week,” Johnson said. “He watches film constantly. He didn’t make a mistake all night. It was great for him personally to help us to a win against Thomas Jefferson.”

Pittman also had an interception on defense. Leading up to the game the standout senior accurately predicted what the team needed to do.

“We will just need to stay focused, keep working as a team, limit mistakes and take advantage of every opportunity we are given,” Pittman said.

Mask finished with three catches for 80 yards and a score while Luke Welch made two catches for 59 yards. Bradley Greenwood had two catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Locklear and Ryan Holder also had key receptions in the contest. Locklear finished with 28 yards on 12 carries and Joe Clark rushed the football three times for 13 yards.

Johnson also praised the play of the offensive line. Mason Tanner, Ridge Stroud, Mark Hicks, Ryan Reeves and Jackson Welch did not allow a sack in Friday’s win.

“We limited penalties and had an overall great team performance in the biggest game of the year,” the coach said.

The Cougars will look to keep the momentum going when they host Augusta Prep this Friday for Senior Night.

“A win this week would guarantee us a winning season,” Johnson said. “That is a goal we want to reach.”