Turnovers Hurt Cougars in Loss to Unity Prep

Piedmont Academy’s home region game against Unity Prep turned into a tall order last Friday for the Cougars.

When all was said and done, Piedmont was on the wrong end of a 47-7 score and is now 1-1 in GISA Region 1-AA play. The loss was extremely disappointing for Cougars coach Wes Tanner.

“We have to pick up the pieces and put our best foot forward this week,” the coach said.

Turnovers played a major role in the outcome last Friday night.

“When you can’t take care of the football and give your opponent six extra possessions, it’s very tough,” Tanner said.

Logan Conner was a bright spot for the Cougars last week as he rushed for 84 yards on 24 carries. Conner also had two receptions for 13 yards.

JT Webb had four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Webb had an interception.

Caleb Faircloth also had a strong outing defensively as he intercepted two passes. Parker Clark and Tanner Coppock also helped pace Piedmont’s defense.

The Cougars will close out the regular season this week against defending Class AA state champion Flint River Academy.

The Flint River Wildcats enter this week undefeated in region play having already disposed of Windsor 35-12 and Unity Prep 14-12. Flint River is 4-5 overall with its other victories against non-region foes Holy Spirit Prep and Westwood. Losses for the Wildcats in 2017 have been against The Heritage School, Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg, Terrell, Briarwood and Southwest Georgia.

While Flint River is a solid team this season, the Wildcats did lose a large number of seniors from last year’s state championship squad.

“In small school football that’s usually tough to overcome,” Tanner said. “However, they have put a competitive team on the field this season. While they may not be quite as strong, they are still very well coached. The question for us will be are we willing to put our best foot forward and find a way to grind out a win.”

Cougar defensive coordinator Michael Wilson knows it will be a tough challenge this week.

“In order for us to hold Flint River in check offensive, we have to slow down their run game,” Wilson said. “They run primarily out of the shotgun formation with a good mix of quarterback power, jet sweep and counter runs.”

With Piedmont having played Bethlehem Christian Academy and Windsor this season, Wilson said the Cougars should have a grasp on what the Flint River Wildcats will do.

“We had pretty good success against those schools so I know we will have a good game plan in place to stop them,” Wilson said. “It’s just a matter of having a good week of practice and then carrying over what we do and putting it to use Friday night.”

Quality preparation during the week will be essential.

“I’ve said it all year that the defense will do on Friday what we work on Monday through Thursday,” Wilson said. “We can compete with any team in Class AA. It’s just a matter of belief and grit. Defensively, we practice all week on pursuit, tackling and playing sound secondary technique as well as seeing what plays and formations our opponents will run. We do that so that when Friday night comes around we can help the team have a chance at winning the game.”

Kickoff is set Friday for 7:30 p.m. at Cougar Field.

Players of the Week

•Overall: Caleb Faircloth

•Offense: Logan Conner

•Defense: Tanner Coppock

•Special Teams: Parker Clark

Stats vs Unity Prep

Offense

•Logan Conner: 24 rushes for 84 yards, 2 catches for 13 yards

•JT Webb: 4 catches for 44 yards

•Dylan Coe: 31-yard catch on halfback pass from Owen Brady

Defense

•Caleb Faircloth: 2 interceptions

•Tate Marks: 1 interception