Cougars Post Region Win

The early season schedule was nothing short of brutal for the Piedmont Academy football team but coaches believed those tests would pay dividends when the GISA Region 1-AA slate began.

One game into the region schedule and the Cougar coaches are correct. Piedmont defeated Windsor Academy 41-20 last Friday on the road in Macon for its first victory of the season but more importantly the win puts the Cougars at 1-0 in region play.

“We just kept battling,” said Piedmont head coach Wes Tanner. “It was just like we’ve done all season. We kept sticking to the game plan and in the end good things happened.”

The Cougars had 475 yards of total offense against the Knights while running 75 offensive plays.

Piedmont started the scoring on a 27-yard field by Ezra King in the first quarter. After Windsor took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, Owen Brady gave the advantage back to the Cougars on a 2-yard run. The two-point conversion failed to leave the score at 9-7.

Chase Porter then hauled in a 57-yard reception from Tate Marks for a touchdown in the second quarter. King added the point after kick for a 16-7 lead.

Windsor added a 40-yard touchdown run to made the score 16-14 at halftime.

King added a 37-yard field in the third quarter but the host Knights answered on a 40-yard run. Windsor failed on the two-point conversion but Piedmont suddenly found itself down 20-19.

The Cougars didn’t panic, however, and regained the lead on a 25-yard run from Marks. Porter then caught a pass from Marks for the 2-point conversion and a 27-20 lead.

Piedmont added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win. The first came on a 3-yard run by Logan Conner and Marks closed out the scoring and the victory on a 27-yard score. King added the point after kick after both fourth quarter scores.

Marks finished the game 5-of-9 for 158 yards and a touchdown. Conner rushed for 136 yards on 21 carries while Marks added 114 yards on the ground on 16 attempts. Brady added 48 yards on the ground on 13 rushes.

JT Webb caught three passes for 79 yards while Porter had 57 yards receiving and Dylan Coe had 22 receiving yards.

Helping lead the way for the offense were Porter and Webb at tight end, Tanner Coppock and Brett Bush at tackle, Zach Spivey and Matthew Griffin at guard and Parker Clark at center.

On the defensive side of the football, Webb had four tackles with one assist, one sack and one tackle for loss. Conner finished the game with four tackles and two assists while Coppock had two tackles and one assist and one fumble recovery. Clark compiled two tackles, two assists and one tackle for a loss.

“We had a good night defensively,” Tanner said. “We still need to get better at eliminating big plays.”

Piedmont will look to earn another region win when it hosts Unity Prep (formerly Bethlehem Temple) Friday at 7:30 p.m. Unity Prep opened 1-AA play with a 14-12 loss to Flint River Academy last week.

“They are going to be fast and physical,” Tanner said. “We have to play assignment football on both offense and defense. It will be a key for us to not have turnovers.”

A win this Friday would guarantee the Cougars a home playoff game since it would lock up a second place finish in region.

The Unity Prep Wildcats are 3-4 overall and have wins against Dominion (36-0), First Presbyterian Christian (38-0) and Monsignor Donovan (72-0). The Wildcats and Piedmont have a common opponent in Bethlehem Christian Academy. Unity Prep fell to BCA 16-6 while Piedmont was defeated 27-0.

Cougar defensive coordinator Michael Wilson believes this week will be another tough challenge.

“Unity possesses a lot of team speed and has the ability to break any play for a touchdown, Wilson said. “We must play assignment football on defense and our backside defenders have to play containment every time the play goes away from them.”

Playing sound defensively will also be key for Piedmont Friday night.

“We must focus on making sure we do not have missed tackles and we have to wrap up and swarm to the football,” Wilson said. “Our secondary has to communicate with each other and make sure everyone is aligned correctly and making correct reads. We must play the run well, make tackles and not allow runners to break containment and get outside.”

With Unity possessing the ability to make big plays the Cougars will need a solid game from each area of their defense.

“Our safeties and corners need to get in drops and not allow anyone behind them,” Wilson said. “Our line and linebackers have to play every snap and be the aggressor. At this point of the season we cannot afford to take a play off or not giving 100 percent on each play. We need to come out with that mentality Friday.”

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

Players of the Week

Overall: Tate Marks

Offense: Offensive Line

Defense: Owen Brady

Special Teams: Ezra King

Stats vs. Windsor:

Offense

•Tate Marks, 5-of-9 passing, 158 yards, 1 TD, 16 carries for 114 yards, 2 TDs

•Logan Conner, 21 carries for 136 yards, 1 TD

•Owen Brady, 13 carries for 48 yards, 1 TD

•Noah Faubli, 4 carries for 15 yards

•Trent Coots, 5 carries for 4 yards

•JT Webb, 3 catches for 79 yards

•Chase Porter, 1 catch for 57 yards, 1 TD

•Dylan Coe, 1 catch for 22 yards

Defense

•JT Webb, 4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss

•Logan Conner, 4 tackles, 2 assists

•Tanner Coppock, 2 tackles, 1 assist

•Parker Clark, 2 tackles, two assists, 1 tackle for loss

•Dylan Coe, tackle, 1 assist

•Trent Coots, 1 tackle, 1 assist

•Noah Faubli, 1 tackle, 1 assist

•Talon Anglin, 1 tackle

•Owen Brady, 1 tackle, 1 interception

•Chase Porter, 3 assists, 1 fumble recovery

Special Teams

•Ezra King, 27-yard field goal, 37-yard field goal, 3 PATs