Cougars set sights on the Chilton Pirates
Rosebud-Lott Cougars (1-0) vs. Chilton Pirates (1-0) on Friday, September 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Rosebud-Lott
The expectations are high in Rolo Coogs country and why not. The program is rich on a tradition of winning. The 2017 football season for many fans offers a season of redemption for a storied program.
This week they face off against neighboring rival the Chilton Pirates. The Pirates are looking to forget their last season also and just like the Cougars, they have started the season at 1-0 after their 13-6 victory over Granger.
This will be a renewal of an old rivalry and the Pirates are loaded with experience on both sides of the ball. They return 9 starters on each side. QB Jeon Davis, who is new to the position, will lead the offense. He will look to throw the ball to WR’s Cameron Fields and Chris Oliver or hand it off to talented HB Alex Landrum.
The Pirate defense features LB Juan Flores and CB Karlton Johnson as its leaders. They will have their hands full trying to corral the potent Cougar rushing attack.
Led by slippery QB JaQuorion Johnson, bruising FB Ethan Easley, and talented HB Cody Wells the Cougar offense is explosive. Other key contributors to the ground game include Keith Finan and Ty Stock. Stock doubles as the place kicker and is a threat to put points up for the Cougars once in his range.
The Cougar defense has played up to expectations in the scrimmages and in their opening game of the season. Sparks are sure to fly when these two storied programs collide.
You would have search hard to find a nicer season opener for the Rosebud-Lott Cougars than the one that played out for them on Friday night. It had explosion, hard-hitting defense, a good comeback, and plenty of drama.
The Cougars Johnson introduced himself to the Florence defense in the 1st quarter, streaking 65 yards for a touchdown. It set the tone for a great night for him but the Florence offense and QB C.J. Giddens had other ideas and they responded with two quick scores to give Florence a 14-6 lead after the 1st quarter. Johnson would get loose twice more in the 2nd quarter for scores of 2 and 39 yards and the Cougar defense would pitch a shutout, for a 20-14 Rosebud lead.
A 45-yard burst for a score in the 3rd quarter stretched the lead to 27-14. Giddens would find a groove again in the 4th quarter for a score to pull the Buffaloes to within six at 27-21 but Johnson would add another score to put the game away. A late harmless score made the final 34-29 Rosebud-Lott.
It was a good opening win for the Cougars as they demonstrated a rugged ground attack, rushing for 478 yards. Johnson with 325 did most of the damage but Cody Wells added 85 yards on 7 carries, Easley had 41 on 12 carries, and Finan had 22 on 4 carries.
In addition kicker Ty Stock booted 4 of 5 extra points on the night. The defense stood strong when they needed to secure the victory.