The Cougars won the toss. Unlike most other times when this occurs, Coach Hicks decided to receive instead of defer.

Wes Feazelle kicked off for the Eagles. Josh Bowling got the ball near the sideline at the 18, and stepped out-of-bounds there. PC scored on 9 plays, needing no third-down conversions. Josh Calfee ran off-tackle right on 1^st-and-10 from the FC 16 for the score. Paul Taylor’s PAT made it 7-0 PC with 8:50 left in the quarter. During the drive, Frank Cobbs had 24 yards on 2 sweeps, David Hale carried once for 11 yards, Antoine Meadows contributed 17 yards (all up the middle) on 3 carries, and Calfee had 30 yards on 3 carries.

Taylor booted the kickoff into the endzone. FC took over at its own 20. The Eagles got one first down before facing 4^th-and-1 at their own 40. Eagle Coach Little decided not to gamble so early. FC punted to the PC 30, and Alan Wheeling returned for a yard to the 31.

The Cougars would get one first down. On 2^nd-and-5 from the PC 46, Cobbs took the sweep right for an apparent first down. However, a holding penalty on the play effectively killed the drive. On 4^th-and-8 from the PC 43, the snap to Taylor was high, and he was tackled by FC’s Michael Montgomery at the PC 33, where the Eagles took over on downs.

The Eagles could not take advantage of the gift, however. On 4^th-and-5 from the Cougar 28, QB Nathan Angle’s pass for Terry Dameron fell incomplete. The Cougars took over.

The Cougars again marched down the field. The biggest runs were by Calfee (for 14 yards) and Cobbs (for 11 yards). On 2^nd-and-3 from the 5, Calfee ran for a TD, but it was called back because of a penalty. On 3^rd-and-6 from the FC 8, Calfee took the handoff left for the score. This was the only third down of the drive. Taylor added the PAT. 14-0 PC with 8:34 remaining in the first half.

Taylor again kicked off into the endzone. Kelly Moore ran for 5 yards on 3^rd-and-2 from the FC 28. A pass in the flat to Devon Taylor earned another first down for the Eagles. Another pass to D. Taylor on 2^nd-and-3 from the PC 48 gained 12 yards. On the next play, however, Angle’s pass deep down the middle was picked off by Jonathan Anderson at the PC 7. Anderson was tackled on the spot. The clock now read 5:46 to go in the half.

The Cougars drove 93 yards in 7 plays for another TD. Calfee carried for 5 yards on 2^nd-and-2 from the 15. On 2^nd-and-3 from the PC 27, David Hale broke a run up the middle and took it right, going for 54 yards before being tackled by Moore at the Eagle 19. "The hole was wide open. I just looked to the outside and went. I thought I was going to score, but I cut back and got caught from behind", Hale said. His run was the biggest gain from scrimmage for the Cougars.

On 1^st-and-10, Calfee carried left for 7. On the next play, Hale took the handoff up the middle and down to the 4. The drive bore fruit when on 1^st-and-goal, Calfee ran left and cut back upfield for the score. Taylor’s PAT made it 21-0 PC with 3:28 left in the half.

Taylor’s kickoff was taken by Dameron near the left sideline, just outside the goal line. He found a lane cutting across the middle, and broke free down the right side. Bowling’s tackle at the PC 14 prevented an immediate score. "It was my fault, I was near [Dameron] at about their 25 or 30. I didn’t break down soon enough," said Jesse Rakes.

Angle scrambled for 9 yards. Moore then ran for a yard and a first down. On the next play, it was Moore again, and he took it in for the score. Adam Roop blocked Feazelle’s PAT attempt, making the score Cougars 21, Eagles 6 with 2:23 left in the half.

Calfee took Feazelle’s kickoff at the 10, ran right, cut left, and found daylight. C.J. Arrington brought him down, but not before he reached the Eagle 32. Calfee gained 6 yards on first down. Cobbs then lost 5 on the criss-cross. Calfee took the option pitch left for 4 yards on third down, bringing up 4^th-and-5. Coach Hicks decided not to send Taylor out to try a 42-yard field goal. Instead, Calfee took the pitch right for 7 yards and a first down, keeping the drive alive. The Cougars called for a timeout with 55.8 seconds left. Calfee then ran for 15 yards down to the 5. Wheeling then faked a handoff left, and bootlegged right. He was able to barely beat the defender to the goal line. Taylor’s PAT was good. The Cougars led 28-6 with 20.7 seconds until halftime.

Taylor’s squib kick went out-of-bounds, and the Eagles took over at their own 35. The Eagles were out of timeouts, having used them all in the first quarter. Angle was sacked for an 8-yard loss, and the half ended.

It looked like another rout of the Eagles by the Cougars was well under way.

Not so. The Eagles came out of the locker room fired up. There was no quit in this team. "We’ve been a better second half team all year," Coach Jerry Little would say later.

Taylor’s second half kickoff went out-of-bounds. FC 1^st-and-10 at its own 35. Seven plays and 65 yards later, the Eagles hit paydirt. The big play was Angle’s pass to Arrington on 1^st-and-10 from the PC 43. The play was good for 36 yards. Moore then took the pitch left in for the score from the 7. Feazelle’s PAT attempt was wide left. 28-12 PC with 8:48 remaining in the third.

Calfee returned the kickoff 31 yards to the PC 41. The Cougars got one first down when Calfee ran for 17 yards to the FC 38 on 2^nd-and-6. A holding penalty on 2^nd-and-7 from the FC 35 set PC back 10 yards. Then on 2^nd-and-17, Wheeling unwisely tried to ‘split’ two defenders on a pass to Jeff King. The ball was picked off by Devon Taylor at the 30, and returned by him to the FC 42.

Angle scrambled for 5 yards on 3^rd-and-6 from the FC 46. Then on 4^th-and-1, Moore took the pitch left for 4 yards and a first down. On 3^rd-and-5 from the PC 40, Arrington took the reverse pitch, ran left, dodging a tackle along the way, and threw deep down the left sideline, finding Moore at the Cougar 5. After an illegal procedure penalty set the Eagles back at the 10, Angle threw to Jamison over the middle for 8 yards. Moore then again took a pitch left in for a score. It was his third TD of the night. Arrington caught a pass from Angle for the two-point conversion. Suddenly, the Eagles were within 8 points, with 1:24 left in the third.

Hale took the squib kickoff at the 20 and returned it 10 yards. On first down, Calfee took the handoff left, but slipped without gaining any yardage. Facing 2^nd-and-10, the Cougars (who seemed to have been penalty-prone on this evening) were called for illegal procedure. Cobbs took the criss-cross play for a yard, as the third quarter ended. Cobbs took the option pitch right from Wheeling for 10 yards, making it 4^th-and-4. Taylor then punted for the Cougars, getting a good bounce from the Eagle 40 down to the 29, where the ball was downed.

On first down, Angle rolled left and passed to Jamison for 19 yards. Then on 2^nd-and-10, Angle rolled right and passed to Dameron for 13 yards. The Eagles faced 4^th-and-7 from the Cougar 36. Angle again scrambled, and was able to find Moore open over the middle. Moore struggled to try to get the yardage for the first down. The officials brought the chains in for the measurement. He was barely short. The home crowd breathed a sigh of relief, as the Cougars took over on downs.

The relief was short-lived. Cobbs took the option pitch left on 3^rd-and-13 from the PC 27 for an apparent first down. However, a holding penalty nullified the run, leaving the Cougars with 3^rd-and-21 on the 19. FC team captain Billy Riddle brought down Calfee in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. Once again, the Eagle defense had risen to the occasion. Taylor punted, and Adam Roop downed the ball at the Eagle 42. 7:05 remained in the game.

The Eagles faced 4^th-and-1 from the Cougar 49. Moore ran for 3 yards and a first down. Then on 2^nd-and-12 from the Cougar 48, Angle scrambled down to the 32 for what looked like a big gain. This time, it was the Eagles who would have a big play nullified because of a penalty. FC was called for illegal use of hands on the play. The Eagles now faced 2^nd-and-16 on their own 48. After a short gain on second down, Adam Brockmeyer broke up Angle’s pass on the next play. This set up the play of the game. On 4^th-and-15, Angle scrambled left, then right. He attempted to complete a pass downfield right, but Anderson picked off Angle for the second time in the game, and returned the ball from the Cougar 36 all the way down the left sideline to the Eagle 31. The clock read 2:42 to go.

Big players step it up when it counts. Calfee gained 5 yards on first down. On the next play, he carried up the middle. It appeared as if he was going to be tackled at least twice. But the ‘Super Sophomore’ kept his strong legs churning, broke all the tackles, and marched into the endzone. Taylor’s PAT made the score 35-20 with 1:15 to play.

"Our defense had to make a play, and Anderson got the interception. We take it in and score to ice it," said Coach Hicks. "We didn’t change our blocking in the final drive. It was the momentum that changed. High school players are so much better when they feel they have momentum."

Devon Taylor took the kickoff 22 yards from the 6. Angle passed over the middle to Jamison for a gain of 24. A deep pass left for Taylor was just off of his fingertips. Angle then scrambled around, then found Jamison open at the Cougar 10, but the pass was dropped. It did not make any difference, as FC was called for a clipping penalty on the play. This made it 2^nd-and-25 from the Eagle 37. Angle again scrambled, this time running for 20 yards. After a FC timeout, Angle rolled right, but overthrew Dameron. On 4^th-and-5 from the PC 43 with 44 seconds left, Angle threw left into the endzone for Taylor, who was closely defended by Wheeling. The pass was just behind Taylor, who could not make the catch. The Cougars took over on downs.

Wheeling took a knee, and the game was over. Cougars 35, Eagles 20.

"To be down 28-6 at half and have a legitimate shot to win the game in the second half is a great credit to our kids" said Coach Little. "If we could get our offense more opportunities to snap the ball, we could have scored more points. We knew we had receivers open, but just needed more shots at getting the ball to them. We knew at the half that we needed to make some defensive adjustments."

"All first half, I kept getting chop blocked," said Riddle. "Kris Rizzuto saw what was happening and told me at half to step back and let the blocker fall to the ground. That worked for me in the second half."

DeWayne Burkes returned this week after being out last week due to injury. After the game he was looking forward to next week’s clash with the William Fleming Colonels. "I’ll be thinking this week about how last year they came down here and beat us at Homecoming."