The Copper Basin Cougars said goodbye to seven seniors as they hosted the North Georgia Falcons for Senior Night Friday, October 21 at Copper Basin High School.
AJ Fitchett, Isaac Deal, Cadan Williams, Krus Soto, Addison Hook, Joe Proffitt and Isaac Henderson all put on the red and grey for the last time at home and all played a huge part, as the Cougars cruised to a 33-6 win to send those seven out in style.
Head Coach Chad Grabowski loved the effort that his team has played with all season, and the seniors have been great leaders throughout their careers at Copper Basin. “Yea very excited for the seniors and they all did play well. I was very happy and pleased with how the team played and especially the seniors on senior night. They came out with a purpose and got it done. It was great to send them out with a win on their last home game of the season. Just so proud of all the players and how hard they all played for each other.”
The Cougars won the toss but deferred to the second half, kicking off to start the football game. Basin’s defense forced a Falcon punt on their first drive and the Cougars took over at their own 33 yard line. Senior Isaac Deal carried the ball three times for 17 yards, but a sack on fourth down gave the ball back to North Georgia. An incompletion on fourth down gave the ball back to Basin, but they were forced to punt. Neither team scored in the first quarter, but Copper Basin got a drive going in the second quarter, starting at their own 19 yard line. Sophomore quarterback found Deal for 35 yards and then connected with senior Cadan Williams for 15 more to set up the Cougars for their first touchdown of the night. On the seventh play of the drive, senior Addison Hook put the Cougars on top as he bruised his way into the end zone from three yards out with 6:16 left before halftime.
North Georgia answered on the following possession, scoring from seven yards out to tie the game at 6-6 with 2:52 to go in the half. Sophomore Zach Beach recovered the onside kick at midfield and Basin found themselves in business again. Junior Avery Crowder and Dean carried the ball for 13 yards and with 1:20 left in the half, Dean found senior AJ Fitchett from 34 yards out to put the Cougars up for good, 12-6. Deal converted the two-point conversion to give Basin a 14-6 lead at halftime.
To start the second half, Beach fell on another onside kick attempt by the Falcons, and Deal made them pay, busting loose on a 52 yard touchdown run to give Copper Basin a 20-6 lead with only 14 seconds gone in the third quarter. Freshman Tucker Rhodes kicked the extra point to give the Cougars a 21-6 lead.
The Falcons tried to get a drive going, but sophomore Talon Smith had a huge pass break up on one possession and Krus Soto recovered a Falcon fumble to give the Cougars the ball with 6:00 left in the third quarter. Basin turned the ball over on downs, but sophomore Mason Anderson broke up another pass, giving the ball right back to the Cougars. Crowder had runs of 11 and 16 yards before Dean found a wide open Williams for a 30 yard touchdown to add to the Basin lead with 1:39 left in the third period. After the extra point was no good, Basin had a 27-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Beach and Hook combined to drop the Falcon runner for a four yard loss and on the next play, Fitchett picked off a North Georgia pass to set up the Cougars’ offense again. Rhodes ended up punting on fourth down, but the Cougar defense would make another huge play, as Fitchett snagged another Falcon pass and returned it 13 yards, setting up Basin at their own 49 yard line. Deal carried the ball for 24 yards and Hook for six more, but the Cougars came up short on fourth and seven, giving the ball back to the Falcons.
Copper Basin’s defense didn’t allow a yard on that drive as senior Joe Proffitt had a big stop and sophomore Dawson Kelley did as well, giving the Cougars the ball back deep in Falcon territory, at the 25, and then put the game away as Williams ripped down the right sideline from 30 yards out to give Basin a 33-6 lead with 1:25 left in the game. North Georgia ran one play and the clock hit zeroes, giving the Cougars a 33-6 win, sending the seven seniors out in style.
Copper Basin rushed the ball 38 times for 235 yards on the night, anchored by senior center Isaac Henderson and the rest of the Cougar offensive line. The Cougars also had 152 yards passing on the night.
Isaac Deal led the Cougars in rushing, carrying the ball 10 times for 132 yards and a touchdown. Deal also had three catches for 73 yards and a two-point conversion. Crowder carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards, while Williams had one for 30 and a touchdown. Hook added three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Williams also caught two passes for 45 yards and a score, while Fitchett had one reception for 34 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Deal finished the night with six tackles and Williams had five. Hook had three tackles including a tackle for loss, while Soto had three stops and a tackle for loss. Dean, Crowder, Smith, Kelley, Fitchett, Beach, Proffitt, and Dalton Wrey had two tackles each. Fitchett had two interceptions, while Anderson and Smith had a pass break up.
Copper Basin hits the road Friday, October 28, as they travel to take on region rival South Pittsburg. Kickoff is set for 7:00PM local time.
Scoring Summary:
1 2 3 4 - Final
NG 0 6 0 0 - 6
CBHS 0 14 13 6 - 33
STORY BY JOHN SPARGO