A Drubbing of Danville
by Ardent Cougar

BOX SCORE

How good is this Cougar team?  Ask the Eagles, who made a long trip home after the game, licking their wounds from the punishment of a 42-13 defeat.

G.W. Danville got first possession.  Micah Knight took John Hedge’s kickoff at the 6, and was stopped by Rusty Lane at the 11.

Knight was held to a 6-yard gain on 3rd-and-10.  John Fulton punted to Alan Wheeling, who gained 4 yards on the return up to the Cougar 49. 

On 3rd-and-3 from the Danville 44, Calfee gained 9 yards on a sweep right, but a penalty for illegal blocking moved the ball back to the PC 41 for 3rd-and-18.  Frank Cobbs ran the FB dive for 12 yards, making it 4th-and-6. 

Brandon Hamblin’s went into the endzone.  The Eagles were penalized for holding on the play, meaning that their drive would begin at the 10. 

Knight gained 9 yards on 2 carries, setting up a key 3rd-and-1.  Knight bobbled the option pitch left, and was tackled by Wheeling and Jeff King for a 5-yard loss. Fulton’s punt was taken by Wheeling at the Cougar 47, who gained a yard on the return. 

Cobbs gained 3 yards on the dive play, and Josh Calfee took a pitch right for 5.  On 3rd-and-2, Calfee swept left for 15 yards and a first down.  This was the first time either team had not gone ‘three-and-out’.  The next series was similar, as Calfee gained 3 followed by Cobbs getting 5, setting up another 3rd-and-2, this time at the Eagle 21.  Cobbs went off tackle left, and got the first down with a yard to spare.  Greg Cobbs carried the criss cross left for 4 yards.  Calfee then made it 1st-and-goal at the 4 with a 10-yard off tackle right play. 

Calfee again went off tackle right, getting down to the 1.  Cobbs then dove in for the score.  John Hedge added the PAT.  7-0 Cougars with 2:21 left in the first quarter. 

Hedge’s kickoff went into the endzone. 

Adam Brockmeyer tackled Knight for a 1-yard loss on the option pitch right.  The 1st quarter ended after Knight went up the middle to the 20, making it 3rd-and-10. 

The Eagles came through on this key play.  QB Demar Fitzgerald faked a handoff, then hit Torrence Nunnally with a slant pattern over the middle.  The play gained 13 yards, and moved the chains. 

On 2nd-and-5, Fitzgerald passed to Bradford DeShazor for a 16-yard gain into Cougar territory at the 46.  On 2nd-and-6 from the 42, Danville caught a break.  Fitzgerald’s pass was picked off at the 19 by Frank Cobbs, but on the return, Rahiem Venable stripped Cobbs of the ball.  The Eagles recovered at the 30.

The Cougars would pay for this mistake.  Knight took a pitch right for 11 yards.  Kenny Lewis gained 7 yards on first down, then was stopped for no gain on 2nd-and-3, being stopped by Jeff King and Brockmeyer. 

After an illegal substitution penalty set the Eagles back for 3rd-and-8 from the 17, Fitzgerald hit Nunnally on a slant-in pattern from the right.  The touchdown, plus the PAT, left the Cougars tied for the first time all season.  7:33 remained in the half. 

Berkley Furgurson kicked off to Calfee at the 15.  Josh gained 19 yards on the return. 

On 2nd-and-10, Wheeling faked a handoff, and kept up the middle for 14 yards.  On 2nd-and-7 from the Eagle 49, Danville was called for an illegal participation penalty, making it 2nd-and-2 at the 44.  Calfee went left for 5 yards to move the chains, then carried the sweep right for 26 yards, down to the 13.  Frank Cobbs then took the FB dive to paydirt.  Hedge added the PAT, and the Cougars had regained the lead, with the clock reading 4:48. 

Lewis took the kickoff at the 16, and went left, all the way into Cougar territory before Wheeling knocked him out of bounds at the 48.  After Fitzgerald overthrew a receiver on 1st-and-10, his next pass was picked off by Wheeling at the 28, and returned 9 yards up to the 37. 

The Cougars got nothing on this drive, as King dropped a pass over the middle at the Eagle 49 on 3rd-and-8. 

Hamblin’s punt was downed at the Danville 35. 

The defense would get on the scoreboard for the Cougars two plays later.  After Wheeling almost picked off an errant pass, Fitzgerald’s next attempt through the air went off of the fingertips of DeShazor, and into the waiting hands of Frank Cobbs.  Cobbs went left, and sailed into the endzone from 47 yards out.  Hedge kicked the PAT to up the lead to 14, with just a couple of minutes left before the break. 

Knight took the kickoff from the 5, and went right, getting up to the 43 on a nice return. 

On 3rd-and-9 from the Eagle 44, Knight took the slant draw play left.  Only David Hale’s shoestring tackle at the PC 38 saved a touchdown.  Knight then gained 9 yards on a pitch right, setting up 2nd-and-1 from the PC 29. 

Fitzgerald passed into the endzone for Nunnally, but Wheeling had him well defended on the play.  Lewis was stopped for a 6-yard loss on 3rd down by King and Gordon Cross.  The Cougars declined a holding penalty on the play, setting up 4th-and-7. 

Fitzgerald’s pass was wisely knocked down by Frank Cobbs at the 10-yard line, giving the Cougars the ball on downs.  Cobbs’ deciding to bat down the pass instead of intercepting it saved PC about 25 yards.  There were only 24.1 seconds left until halftime. 

Frank Cobbs went off tackle left into Eagle territory at the 47.  Wheeling dropped back, and threw incomplete for Greg Cobbs.  Wheeling then kept right, and was knocked out of bounds at the 38 with 2.4 seconds left.  Frank Cobbs then gained 3 yards on a dive play, as the half ended with the score Cougars 21, Eagles 7.

PC took the first possession of the second half.  Calfee returned Furgurson’s kickoff from the 12 for 30 yards up to the Cougar 42. 

Frank Cobbs took the off tackle play right for 4 yards on 3rd-and-1 from the Eagle 49.  He then ran for 11 yards on a dive play to move the chains once more.  Calfee took a quick pitch left for 6 yards on 2nd-and-6 at the 30. 

The drive bogged down here.  After Frank Cobbs could only gain 4 yards with an option pitch play on 3rd-and-7, Coach Hicks decided to go for a first down instead of having Hedge attempt a 34-yarder. 

Calfee took a quick pitch right, but came up a yard short.  Danville took over on its own 15. 

Knight carried up the middle for 10 yards and a first down, almost breaking it for a lot more.  Cross and King stopped Lewis for no gain.  Knight took the pitch right, but Adam Roop held him to no gain as well.  Demetrius Jackson carried up the middle on 3rd-and-10, and was met by the same fate, making it 4th down.  The Cougars made quite a statement on this defensive series. 

Fulton punted to Wheeling at the PC 36.  He got some great blocks which set up a wall on the right side.  Alan made it all the way down to the Danville 10 before being knocked out of bounds.  Unfortunately, it was all for naught.  PC was called for clipping on the play, moving the ball back to the Cougar 37. 

With about 4:30 left in the 3rd quarter, the Cougars began a long drive which sealed the win.  Frank Cobbs carried for 3 consecutive plays, getting 4 yards twice, then running for 2 yards to move the sticks.  Calfee gained 4 yards running off tackle right.  On 3rd-and-2 from the Danville 44, Cobbs got just enough for the first down.  After Cobbs carried the dive play for 13 yards, then again fort a 1-yard gain, he again went up the middle, surging ahead to the 22.  The quarter ended with PC facing 3rd-and-3.

As rain that had earlier subsided began to fall again, enthusiastic fans cheered the Cougars on as both teams switched ends. 

Calfee took the sweep left for 13 yards down to the 9, giving the Cougars 1st-and-goal.  Calfee carried left for 4 yards.  Frank Cobbs was stopped for no gain, being tripped up by Eric Thompson.  This made it 3rd-and-goal. 

Wheeling kept right, and made a nice ‘juke’ move on Andre Canada.  Alan ran towards the pylon, and made it in.  Hedge again added the PAT, and the Cougars were up 28-7 with 10:49 left in the contest. 

Hedge’s kickoff was taken by Lewis at the 4.  Rusty Lane tackled him at the 17.

Now in at QB, Fulton threw deep left down the sideline for a receiver who had Wheeling (suffering from leg cramps) beat on the play.  However, the pass was caught out of bounds.  After a delay of game penalty, Lewis took the pitch right.  Cobbs and Hale held him to a 1-yard gain, making it 3rd-and-14.  Mike Alderman then came in over the left side, and sacked Fitzgerald for a 4-yard loss. 

Wheeling fair caught Fulton’s punt at the Eagle 43. 

PC put some nice icing on the cake just 4 plays later.  Calfee gained 9 yards on two sweeps, making it 3rd-and-1.  Danville made a real mental mistake here, encroaching before the snap.  This moved the ball down to the 29 for a first down. 

Wheeling faked a handoff, and rolled right.  He found Josh Bowling wide open, and threw.  Bowling caught the ball at the 2, and eased in.  Hedge, who has been getting a lot of practice at it this season, booted the PAT.  With 7:47 left, it was 35-7. 

Just over two minutes later, PC got on the board again. 

Lewis took the kickoff 11 yards to the 22.  On 2nd-and-6, the pitch right to Knight got by him.  He was fortunate to pick it up, and turn upfield for only a 6-yard loss.  On 3rd-and-12, King tackled Lewis for a 10-yard loss.  It was 4th-and-22. 

The snap was low for Fulton in the endzone.  He could not find the handle, but Frank Cobbs did, falling on it for a touchdown.  Hedge’s 6th PAT of the night made it 42-7, with 5:42 still left to play. 

After the teams traded punts, the Eagles got the ball at the Cougar 47 with 15.2 seconds left.  Lewis ran left and broke it, scoring on the second team defense.  The PAT was nearly blocked, and was no good. 

One play after the kickoff, the 42-13 thrashing had ended. 

Josh Bowling had his first TD catch of the season.  “Coach is impressed with how the receivers have been blocking on the perimeter, and he wanted to give us some pass plays as a reward."

Coach Hicks interjected at this point in the interview with a question, “What did you say you would do if you got a touchdown, Josh? Shave your head?” 

“I don’t remember that, Coach,” he responded. 

On the play, Josh said he “lined up in the ‘X’ tight end position and then split the defenders.  I was wide open, but had trouble getting out of the endzone, because of Jeff King.” 

“I kind of gave him a hug after the play,” King commented. 

When Jeff was asked if he had any battles with the big linemen for Danville, Mike Alderman threw his two cents in.  “Those guys thought Jeff was the big guy.” 

The captains noted that Danville’s biggest player was in and out of the game all night.  “Every time he left the field, he was asking for more tape.  He was a big dude, he used up a lot of tape.” 

Frank Cobbs was laughing about what Jeff said to one particular Eagle after a clipping penalty.   “I just put my hand on his shoulder and told him that what he did was stupid," said King.  Then I pointed at the flag and said, ‘See what happens when you do that.’” 

Frank commented on the victory, “It’s a big momentum builder, going into district play.  This win will help us out in the Northwest region also.” 

Jon Anderson has been out with a shoulder injury.  “I want to suit up and get out there, but I should be out another week or two,” he said. 

Josh Calfee credited his team on his moving past Carl Lewis, who was 3rd on the Cougar all time rushing list.  “The offense works hard in practice, about 30 minutes a day in 7 on 7 drill, blocking bags,” said Calfee.  Josh had passed Craig Hodge to move up to 4th the week before against Bluefield.

Ken Dobson said, “John Hedge is a fine young man, a real positive kid.  He kicks well and has good kickoffs.  He works hard to try to improve.  He would stay out there all day and kick, if you let him.  But there are only so many kicks that you should do each day.  Shayne Graham has been up to help us out a lot.  He is a good coach.  He told me he had a good tryout with Jacksonville this past week.  It takes time (to break into the NFL).  Teams tend to want to call veterans when they need someone.  He just has to be ready when they call.” 

BOX SCORE

Interviews by Jeff Wolfe 
Photos by Steven Marcus