The Copper Basin Cougars seemed to embrace Friday the 13th as they traveled to take on Lookout Valley Friday, October 13. Copper Basin wasn’t exactly like Jason Voorhees, but they sure did put a hurtin’ on the Yellow Jackets, jumping out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and making big plays down the stretch to get a huge 30-20 District 3-A road win.
After forcing a punt on the Jackets’ first possession, Copper Basin took off on a five-play drive starting at the Lookout Valley 33 yard line. Junior Harrison Brown set up the Cougars with the great field position with a 45-yard punt return, and he finished off the drive with a 19-yard reception from junior quarterback Cade Dean for the first score of the night. Brown also drilled the extrapoint, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead early in the opening quarter.
Copper Basin got the ball right back after the Yellow Jackets failed to convert on a fourth down and 12 at their own 41 yard line. Dean started the drive off with a 15-yard run and later hit sophomore Logan Cochran for 14 yards down to the Jacket five yard line. From there, Dean plowed his way into the end zone for another Cougar touchdown, and after another successful Brown extra-point, Copper Basin had a quick 14-0 lead.
Head Coach Chad Grabowski decided to gamble on the Cougars’ kickoff, opting to try an onsides kick, which was recovered by sophomore Nathan Spencer, setting up Basin at the Valley 47 yard-line. It didn’t take long for the gamble to pay off, as Dean found senior Avery Crowder for a 46-yard touchdown pass, as Crowder ripped the ball away from one defender and then broke a tackle from another defender, and galloped into the end zone. The extra-point attempt was blocked, but the Cougars had raced out to a commanding 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The two teams swapped the next few possessions and following a strange sequence where there were three straight fumbles combined by both teams, the Yellow Jackets finally got on the scoreboard on a 60-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Cougar lead to 20-8 at halftime.
After holding Copper Basin on the opening drive of the third quarter, Lookout Valley inched closer on the scoreboard, as they scored on a one-yard run, cutting the Basin lead to 20-14 with 7:34 left in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets tried their own version of an onsides kick, but the Cougars covered it up and started their next drive at their 48 yard line. Copper Basin went for it on fourth down, but got stopped short, giving the ball back to the Yellow Jackets. Following a huge sack by Crowder, Cochran came up with another big defensive play, as he recovered a Valley fumble, setting up the Cougars at the Lookout Valley 25 yard-line, but they later turned the ball over on downs.
Moving to the fourth quarter, the Cougars looked to put the Jackets away, and with 5:34 left in the game, Brown connected on a 25-yard field goal to put the Cougars up 23-14. The Yellow Jackets responded however, on the first play of their next drive, with a 56-yard touchdown pass to cut the Cougar lead down to 23-20 with 5:26 left in the game.
Copper Basin took over after the kickoff, at their own 22 yard line. They marched down the field and on fourth and goal from the 18 yard line, Dean scrambled and found Spencer in the end zone for a touchdown pass to increase their lead to 30-20 after the Brown extra-point, with 1:13 left in the football game.
Lookout Valley took over at their 31 yard-line, but Dean picked off a pass on first down to seal the win, giving Copper Basin a big 30-20 district road win.
Head Coach Grabowski was very pleased with the Cougar’s effort, especially the way they were able to finish off the Yellow Jackets and grab a huge road win. “Extremely proud of the boys and coaches on how we started the game and were able to finish the game and come out with a huge region win. Love the way we played on Friday and need to play the same way to finish off the regular season!!”
The Cougars will host the Carolina Wildcats, from Pickens, South Carolina, Friday, October 20, which is going to be a busy night on the hill at Copper Basin High School. It will be Homecoming 2023, as well as the inaugural Alumni Night tailgate, hosted by the newly-formed Copper Basin Alumni Association, beginning at 6:00PM in the Copper Basin High School parking lot. The tailgate will be followed at 7:05PM by the Copper Basin Alumni Association honoring their Legend of the Week, longtime Copper Basin Assistant and Head Coach, Mark Stone, on the field during pregame. Homecoming will take place at halftime, as the Cougars will crown a new Homecoming Queen for 2023.
Make plans to come be a part of this huge and special night, and help welcome home many Cougar alumni, as well as welcoming home a Cougar Legend!
Kickoff for the game is set for 7:30PM.