Cougars Triumph Over Football Rivals

In order for the team to meet its goals, both coaches and players had to concentrate on the challenge a rivalry game poses. 

Senior Matthew DeJesus, who plays both offense and defense, described  coach Reggie Lucas’s vision for the team during the days leading up to the game. 

“We were told to focus during the week, dial in and pay attention. We were told to listen to what the coaches said, and we needed to focus on the run since Heritage can’t pass well,” DeJesus said. 

DeJesus has 13 total tackles since shifting to defense from TE. 

Junior Michael Thompson, wide receiver, describes in detail the practices in the week leading up to the game.

“Both on offense and defense, we were practicing for Heritage for four solid days. We had watched a couple hours of film worth of them. We pretty much knew how they were going to play against us, and what they were going to do before we even started the game,” Thompson said.

Thompson has four receptions for 80 yds, averaging 20 yds per catch on the season.  

Junior Zane Williams, linebacker for the Cougars, explains his feelings among the players during halftime, where the team led Heritage 20 to 7.

“At half, I knew we were gonna win. Everybody was playing well, and everybody was focused,” Williams said.

Williams leads the team in solo tackles (40) and total tackles (90).  

Senior Zion Frink, defensive back, speaks on the importance of the Cougar Crazies. 

“Fan support is huge with our student section, especially with it being homecoming. It was huge and gave us a lot of momentum and energy,” Frink said.

Frink owns third place on the team for solo tackles with 28 on the season.  

On top of support from fellow students, players also received support from their teammates.

Kavon Simmons, QB, describes a standout moment from one of his teammates during the rivalry game.

“Rico’s touchdown. Rico had a 70 yard touchdown. He works hard, so just when he got that touchdown, it made us all happy. I was really happy for him,” Simmons said.

Junior Rico Alston, RB holds second place in carries (27) and rushing with 390 yds. He holds the top spot for yds per carry, averaging 8.3.  

Simmons completed 6 of 7 passes for 165 yds in the game. 

Nigel Lucas, multi-positional player on both offense and defense, describes a key moment from the game. 

“Favorite memory had to be in the 4th quarter, when we got taken out and looked at the scoreboard and saw we were going to win the game,” Lucas said. 

 Alston discusses feelings within the locker room after the big win against Heritage.

“We just have momentum right now, and we are just gonna keep building on that,” Alston said. 

Thompson explains how the team plans on bringing the same energy into the last two games of the season.

“I think we are more prepared than ever. I think, if we keep the same energy up, the next two games are going to be just like the Heritage one,” Thompson said.