The Copper Basin Cougars kicked off their 2023 season Friday, August 18, as they hosted long-time rival Polk County at Copper Basin High School.
It was a perfect night for football and both sides of the stadium proved that by a great turnout from the fans of both schools.
The Cougars fought hard until the last second ticked off the clock, but the Wildcats were too strong on this night, toppling Basin 48-13.
Copper Basin received the opening kickoff but after a quarterback sack, the Cougars were forced to punt from their 21 yard line. The punt was tipped and rolled down to the Basin 17 yard line, where the Cats scored in two plays taking a 7-0 lead after the extra point was good.
Basin’s next drive started at their 22 yard line and after an incomplete pass and two runs by junior quarterback Cade Dean, the Cougars had to punt the ball back to Polk. From the Cougars 43 yard line, Polk scored on their second play of the drive, this time from 29 yards out on a run around the right end. After another successful PAT, the Wildcats lead 14-0 with 7:22 to go in the first quarter.
Polk County added another touchdown with 4:53 left in the opening period, completing a 30 yard pass down the right sideline to go up 21-0.
Copper Basin’s next drive ate up the rest of the first quarter and went into the second quarter, but again, they were forced to punt. The Cats went on a methodical drive, chewing up yardage and time.
Starting at their own 33 yard line, they drove down to the Cougar 11 in 8 plays, and finally punching the ball in the end zone from eight yards out to go ahead 28-0 with 6:38 left in the first half.
The Cougars drive started at the 49 yard line and they moved the ball well, as Dean completed two passes to junior Hayden Deal and big senior Landon Allen to get the ball to the Polk 34, but a sack on second down killed the momentum and forced another punt. The Wildcats special teams made a huge play, returning the punt for another touchdown with 1:26 left in the half. The extra point was no good this time, but Polk’s lead grew to 34-0.
To open the second half, the Wildcats took the kickoff and went on a 13 play, 68 yard drive, eating up over seven minutes, and ended with a one-yard touchdown to extend the Polk lead to 41-0 with 4:21 left in the third quarter after the extra point was good.
The Cougars went on another good drive as Dean ran for 42 yards, junior Lucas Hughes ran for seven yards and Deal added six more. Dean found the end zone from two yards out to get the Cougars on the scoreboard with 8:18 left in the game. Freshman Nick Bird added the extra point to cut the lead to 41-7.
Polk County answered the Cougar score with a touchdown of their own, as they ran around the right sideline to increase the lead to 48-7 with 4:02 left.
The Cougars didn’t quit however, going on another drive after Bird returned the kick 11 yards out to Basin 24. Dean moved the Cougars down the field again with his arm, finding Allen for 32 yards and then the shifty quarterback ran the ball for 12 more yards to the Wildcat 40. Dean found Allen again, racing down the home sideline and hit him for a 40 yard touchdown to make the score 48-13.
The kickoff went out of bounds and the Wildcats took over at their 35 yard line, but the clock ran out and Polk went back down the Ocoee River with a 48-13 victory.
Head Coach Chad Grabowski was pleased with how his kids competed and also the play of his athletic quarterback. “I thought the boys played hard and with a lot of heart last night and never gave up. They played hard all the way to the end of the game and gained a lot of confidence with a couple late scores. Overall very proud of the boys and the effort. I thought Cade Dean played a really good game as well.”
Dean had a good night, going 4-9 through the air for 88 yards and a touchdown, while adding 81 yards on the ground with another touchdown. Deal added six yards on the ground and Hughes picked up ten yards on two carries. Allen led the receiving group, grabbing three catches for 82 yards with the touchdown and Deal had one catch for six yards.
Next up for Copper Basin is a visit from South Pittsburg Friday, September 1. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Scoring Summary:
1 2 3 4 - Final
PCHS 21 13 7 7 - 48
CBHS 0 0 0 13 - 13