Josh Calfee set the tone for a hard-hitting game by both teams,
laying it on QB Justin Beckner.

After a Northside punt, the Cougars had to kick it away, as well.
Hedge booted it to the 1-yard line, where it bounced backwards,
and was downed at the 4 by Matt Roan.

PC took advantage of resulting good field position after a punt.
Calfee moves the ball down to the Viking 18.

On the next play, it was Calfee again...

... breaking through for the score.
7-0 Cougars, with 1:24 left in the 1st Quarter.

Bad news for PC.
On the second play after the kickoff, Alan Wheeling was injured,
and had to be helped off the field.

Alan gets attended to, by trainers and the Cougar.

Controversial call early in the 2nd Quarter:
Mike Campbell hauls in a pass from Beckner for a first down.
It appeared that he had either fumbled after the catch,
and PC recovered, or he did not make the catch in the first place.
The officials ruled that he had caught the ball,
then was down before the ball came out.

After a trade of punts, Northside gets on the board.
Dwayne Saunders takes the reverse handoff,
heads for his wall of blockers, and...

... goes down the sideline, scoring from 40 yards out.
The PAT tied the game at 7-7, with 6:12 left before the break.

From midfield, Jeremy Porter takes the pitch left, follows his blockers..

... outruns the Viking secondary, and...

... in for the score!
14-7 PC, with only 3:36 left until halftime.
It appeared as though the Cougars would
head for the lockerroom with the lead, but...

... two plays after the kickoff, Beckner kept on the option play,
found open spaces, and 80 yards later, it was 14-14.
Neither team could do anything in the final 2:44,
and the first 24 minutes of play ended up in a deadlock.

Porter celebrates, having apparently scored on a nice 52-yard run,
but it was called back for holding.

Calfee gets the penalty yards back and more...

... taking this sweep for 36 yards, to the Viking 29.

Hedge attempts a 45-yard field goal.
The officials look up to the sky, as the ball
(far upper right hand corner) comes down.
It hit the crossbar, then...

... bounced through the uprights! Good!
The Cougars had the lead once again, 17-14,
with 3:39 left in the quarter.

Another questionable call, this time on the kickoff:
Hedge's kick was taken by Campbell, whose back foot
appeared to have stepped on the goalline.
The officials let the play continue, and
Campbell found a lane, not stopping until
Calfee and Greg Cobbs tackled him at the PC 31.

Phillip Watkins took the ball around the right end,
getting all the way down to the 3, where Calfee prevented a TD.
Josh had problems with leg cramps much of the night,
coming in and out of the game.
He had to be helped off after the play.

Saunders scored, giving the Vikings the lead
for the first time, 20-17, and..

... despite the best efforts of John Harmon, the PAT was good.
It was still 21-17, as the teams changed ends
for the final 12 minutes.

After the score, an over-entusiastic Northside band member,
carrying a flag, had to be shooed away by the Cougar cheerleaders.

Campbell somehow avoided Roan on the punt return, but
Harmon was there to lay on a crunching tackle, one of
several hard blows John delivered in the game.

As happened several times, the Cougar rush forced a hurried punt.
Fortunately for the Vikings, the short kick bounced and rolled
for at least 15 yards.

Though on crutches, Wheeling showed his leadership,
doing all he could to exhort the team.

Following a punt, the Cougars thought they had recovered a fumble on the ensuing possession, but
the officials ruled the runner down, before the ball was popped loose.

Late in the game, PC goes for it, on 4th-and-5 from its own 36.
Porter took the pitch left from Joey Radcliffe,
but Northside's defense stopped it for a short gain.
3:33 remained in the contest.

Justin London is very highly recruited, and with good reason.
Here, he takes the handoff on the short reverse...

... races down the sideline, staying inbounds, eluding the grasp of Chris Hardin...

... cruising in for a 43-yard score.
The PAT was missed, making the score 27-17,
and with only 3:02 left, it looked as if
London's run had sealed the victory for Northside.

Not so fast.
Radcliffe connects with Cobbs, who leaps to make a fine catch.

Porter takes the ball right, cuts back upfield, finds room, turns on the speed, and...

... 44 yards later, paydirt!
The Cougars had answered in just over a minute.
27-24 Vikings, with 1:58 left.

Having only a single timeout remaining,
Coach Hicks decided that an onside kick was PC's best chance.
Northside recovered.

After stopping a running play for a short gain, PC called its last time out.
On the next play, London unwisely ran out of bounds, stopping the clock.
It was 3rd-and-5 at the 47, and the Cougars still had hope.

Often, when you are desperate to get the ball back,
because of the score and/or the clock, one of two things happen.
Either you stuff a running play for no gain, or the back breaks it.
London more than made up for his error on the previous play, taking it left...

... breaking free, and ending any realistic hopes for PC.
34-24, with 1:31 to go.

Still hoping for a miracle, the Cougars don't give up.
Cobbs takes this criss-cross play for good yardage,
down inside the Northside 30.

Two plays later, Cobbs carried again, and got some yards,
but in his struggle to advance the ball further, a hit caused him to fumble.
After a scramble, the Vikings recovered, and ran out the clock.

It was an epic struggle, worthy of a title game.
Fortunately, PC lost nothing in either district or playoff standing with this loss.
Cougar thoughts quickly turned to the upcoming week off,
giving key players time to heal, before the second season begins.