The Copper Basin Cougars kicked off their 2021 season Friday, August 20, hosting their long-time rival, the Polk County Wildcats, on a warm, muggy night in Copperhill.
The Cougars received the opening kickoff to start the ballgame and Polk’s kicker boomed the kickoff into the end zone resulting in a touchback, and Basin would start at their own 20-yard line. After a short gain on first down, followed by a couple of incompletions, the Cougars were forced to punt. Polk set up shop around midfield, and on second and ten, the Cougars struck gold as Jonathan Johnson picked off a Wildcat pass and raced 47 yards into the end zone for the first score of the season with 7:57 to go in the first quarter. The extra point was good and Basin had a quick 7-0 lead.
Polk started their next drive following the kickoff at their own 40-yard line, and after an incomplete pass on fourth down, gave the ball right back to Copper Basin. Following a first down, the drive stalled and the Cougars would have to punt the ball to Polk, and they started the drive at their own 30-yard line. They capped off the eight-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and following the extra point, the ballgame was tied at seven apiece with 11:53 left in the second quarter.
The Cougars struck quickly through the air as senior quarterback Joe Boggs hit speedy junior Cadan Williams perfectly in stride down the sidelines for an 80-yard touchdown, giving Basin the lead again, 13-7. The extra point was no good, but the Cougars had gone back out in front with 11:40 left before halftime.
After Polk recovered the Basin onside kick attempt, they had good field position at their own 45-yard line. After a first down, Polk moved the ball into Basin territory and on first down, connected on a long touchdown pass to tie the game at 13. The extra point sailed through the uprights and with 9:26 left in the first half, Polk had their first lead of the night, 14-13.
After another touchback, the Cougars began their drive at their own 20-yard line. The Basin offense could not get anything going and was forced to punt the ball back to Polk with 8:32 left before the half. The Wildcats returned the punt down to the Cougar 21- yard line and two plays later, the ‘Cats squirted into the end zone to add to their lead with 7:56 to go in the second quarter. The extra point was good and Polk had a 21-13 lead.
After another touchback, Copper Basin started a drive on their 20-yard line again, and Boggs started the drive with an eight-yard run. After the first down, he connected with Johnson on a 25-yard pitch and catch to move the ball into the Wildcat territory at the 44. However, three plays later, a fumble gave the ball back to Polk with just under four minutes left in the half. The Wildcats capped off a nine-play drive with a short touchdown run to extend their lead to 28-13 after the successful extra point. After another touchback on the kickoff, the Cougars tried to get a drive going. Boggs hit freshman Cade Dean for 19 yards on first down, but the clock ran out and Polk took a 28-13 lead into the locker room.
The Wildcats received the kickoff to start the second half and began the drive at their own 30-yard line. Basin’s defense led by Boggs and junior Addison Hook stiffened and forced a Polk punt. After a booming 60 plus yard punt, Basin took over at their own 20-yard line, as Polk’s special teams kept the Cougars backed up all night long in their own territory. Boggs hit Johnson for 12 yards but a penalty stalled the drive and the Cougars had to punt the ball back to Polk. After a short drive, the Wildcats missed a field goal attempt giving the ball right back to Copper Basin. Senior workhorse tailback Sebastian Baliles started the drive with a nice gain, and Boggs hit Dean again to keep the drive moving. With 2:10 left in the third quarter, the Cougars found the end zone again on a brilliantly set up reverse with Johnson roaring in from 30 yards out. Basin went for a two-point conversion but it was no good, keeping the score at 28-18.
Another onside kick attempt was recovered by Polk, and they began the drive at their 47-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Polk found the end zone with seven seconds left in the third quarter. After the extra point split the uprights, they had a 35-18 lead heading into the final quarter.
Another touchback meant the Cougars would start at the 20 again, but Baliles had a good run on first down. However, a sack would force a Cougar punt with 11:25 left in the ballgame. Polk began a nine-play drive at their 40-yard line, and with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter, extended their lead to 42-18 on a toss sweep around the left end that found the end zone.
Copper Basin took over at the 20-yard line after another booming kickoff found the end zone. Boggs connected with Baliles for a big gain on first and ten, and then found Johnson for 11 more yards, but the Cougars could not convert on a fourth down and turned the ball over to the Wildcats with 4:41 left to play. The teams would swap possessions but Polk ran out the clock and left Copperhill with a 42-18 victory.
Boggs finished the night 11 for 25 with 201 yards passing and a touchdown. Williams had three catches for 87 yards, including the 80-yard touchdown reception. Johnson hauled in four catches for 57 yards and Dean caught two balls for 34 yards. Baliles finished the night with eight carries for 46 yards. Boggs had eight rushes for 38 yards and Johnson three for 46 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Hook and Boggs led the Cougars with 12 tackles each and junior Krus Soto had four tackles, including a tackle for loss. Senior Eli White had six stops for Basin and Johnson ended the night with three tackles plus the 47-yard pick-six in the first quarter.
Coach Chad Grabowski talked after the game about the inexperience of his young team but wants to see them keep growing and improving week to week. “We played hard, but our inexperience showed up a lot on Friday night. We will get better as we get more playing experience under our belts. With that being said, this next week’s game I am just wanting to see how much we can improve from the first to the second game of the year.”
The Cougars travel across the river to take on the Fannin County Rebels in Blue Ridge this week. The kickoff is set for Friday, August 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Fannin County High School.