The Copper Basin Cougars looked to continue their hot streak as they traveled to Whitwell for a huge District 3-A matchup with the Tigers Friday September 20.
The Cougars got to go on offense first and after the opening kickoff sailed through the end zone, they started the drive at their own 20 yard line. After a 19-yard pass from junior quarterback Bryson Grabowski to junior Dawson Worthy, Basin was forced to punt from their own 38. A decent return set up Whitwell at the Cougar 49, and it didn’t take long for the Tigers to draw first blood. A 32-yard gallop set up a first and goal at the Cougar five yard line and two plays later the Tigers squirted into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was good and Whitwell had a quick 7-0 lead with 7:06 to go in the opening quarter.
After another touchback on the kickoff, Copper Basin started their second drive and after an 11 yard pass to senior slot Chase Mickens and and a five yard run by Grabowski, the drive stalled and the Cougars were forced to punt. The Cougars reached into their bag of tricks, however, and Grabowski hit a streaking Mickens down the sideline for 67 yards and put Basin in business at the Whitwell 5 yard line. Senior tailback Chance Bailey powered his way into the end zone on first down to trim the Tiger lead to 7-6. Grabowski then darted in for the two-point conversion giving the Cougars their first lead of the night at 8-7 with 4:47 to go in the first quarter.
After the kickoff, Whitwell started their drive at their own 23-yard line and wasted no time as they roared around the right end and down the sideline for a 77-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good and the Tigers had a 14-8 lead with 4:26 to go.
Basin would have to punt on their next possession giving the ball back to the defending state champions with 2:42 left in the opening quarter. Copper Basin’s defense bowed its back and forced a Tiger punt which was downed at the Cougar six yard line. A ten yard pass to junior Timothy Jabaley moved the ball to the Basin 16.
Grabowski took the next play for a gain of 34-yards and coupled with a personal foul call against Whitwell, Basin was now at the Tiger 35-yard line. Two plays later, Grabowski found Jabaley for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 10:05 left before halftime. Grabowski found a wide open Worthy for the two-point conversion and Basin had regained the lead, 16-14. Whitwell recovered an onsides kick attempt at their own 49-yard line. After three penalties against Whitwell, Mickens intercepted a Tiger pass and ran it up to the Basin 45-yard line. Grabowski threw a laser to Jabaley for a gain of 37 yards down to the Whitwell 18-yard line and two plays later, he hit Mickens for a 17-yard score to add to Basin’s lead. The junior quarterback scooted into the end zone for another successful two-point conversion to give Basin a 24-14 lead with 7:16 left in the second quarter. The Cougars again tried an onsides kick, this time recovering it at the Whitwell 45-yard line. Grabowski found Mickens again for 35 yards down to the Tiger nine yard line, but on 4th and goal from the one, Grabowski’s pass was incomplete, giving the Tigers the ball at their own one yard line. Another Whitwell penalty and two good plays by the Cougar defense forced a punt and Copper Basin was set up again on offense at the Whitwell 45 yard line.
Another pass to Mickens from Grabowski, this one for 36 yards, put the Cougars at the door step for another score. Bailey slammed in for his second touchdown of the night and Mickens cashed in for the two-point conversion, giving the Cougars a 32-14 lead with 1:13 to go before halftime.
Whitwell started a drive after the kickoff at their own 37-yard line. Another holding call moved them backwards, but the Tigers did move the ball into Basin territory before the first half came to a close at the 36 yard line with the Cougars up by 18 points.
Copper Basin opened up the second half with another onsides kick attempt, however, Whitwell recovered it and started their drive on the Cougar 48-yard line. They had an eight play drive that ended with a nine yard touchdown run to cut into the Cougar lead, and after a successful extra point, the Basin lead was down to 32-21 with 6:50 to go in the third quarter.
Mickens returned the kickoff out to the 17-yard line, where Basin would start the first drive of the second half. After passes to Jabaley and Bailey, along with a run by Mickens, Copper Basin was forced to punt the ball back to Whitwell. Grabowski had a nice effort, pinning the Tigers at their own six yard line with 4:03 to go in the quarter. Whitwell moved the ball out to the 27-yard line, but faced a fourth down and one yard to go. The Basin defense stuffed the Tiger runner and took over on offense, looking for a knockout punch. The Cougars, however, had to punt after six plays but the Basin defense came up with a huge play as junior defensive back Logan Burkett intercepted a pass and took it back 30 yards for the pick-six. After Grabowski added the two-point conversion, the Cougars had a 40-21 lead with 9:24 left in the football game.
Whitwell’s next drive ended when they turned the ball over after another failed fourth down attempt. Junior linebacker Timothy Fair had a big tackle for loss on the drive, and Whitwell was flagged for a delay of game call, putting the Tigers in a long fourth down attempt.
Copper Basin took over at the Tiger 47-yard line with 7:12 to go. Grabowski hit Worthy for nine yards and then ripped off a 13-yard gain down to the Tiger 14. Mickens capped the scoring off with a nifty eight yard touchdown run, giving the Cougars a comfortable 46-21 lead with 4:36 left in the game.
Whitwell took the ball at their own 48-yard line and later scored on a one yard touchdown run with :28 left to make the final score 46-27, in favor of the Cougars.
The win puts Copper Basin at 4-1 Overall and 2-0 in the district standings.
Grabowski had a superb night throwing the football, going 18-30 for 352 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards. Mickens had six catches for 170 yards and a touchdown. He also had two rushes for 19 yards and a touchdown. Jabaley also hauled in six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown and Bailey finished the night with two rushing touchdowns. Worthy had three receptions for 34 yards.
The Cougar defense was led by Mickens with 15 total tackles. Sophomore Joe Boggs had his best night at linebacker, totaling 11 stops. Fair had a good night as well, with eight tackles, including two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Senior linebacker Tyler Adams had seven tackles, Bailey three, while sophomore Sebastian Baliles and junior Joseph Johnson also had three stops each.
Head Coach Chad Grabowski, in his second year at Copper Basin, was obviously thrilled with his team’s effort, saying, “It took us a couple of series on offense and defense to get settled into what they where doing. After that we did a good job of stopping them on offense and taking advantage of what they gave us on defense. I’m very proud of how the boys played and never panicked when we got down, we just stayed the course. We are starting to understand that we are a good team and have the players to make the plays we need when we need them. We just need to continue to get more consistent as the season continues because it is only going to get more difficult as we get to the end of the regular season and playoffs.”
The Cougars return home this week as they host the North Georgia Falcons for Homecoming Friday, September 27. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.