Two early miscues by the Copper Basin offense gave the visiting South Pittsburg Pirates the momentum they needed to score 43 unanswered points and win the Divsion 1A Region 3 championship Friday night.
But the Cougars wrapped up a stellar, season long comeback, finishing 3-1 in region competition.
This was good enough for sole possession of second place and the right to host a first round playoff game at Copper Basin this Friday.
Meanwhile, the Pirates solidified their number one ranking in Tennessee with their unblemished 9-0 record. The temperature seemed to drop by the minute at Copper Basin as the Cougars took the opening kickoff to start the game. On third down and 20, a pass interception gave South Pittsburg the ball 28 yards shy of the Cougar end zone. A 21-yard dash put the visitors up 6-0.
Then, Timothy Fairblocked the extra point kick before the ball got off the ground, seeming to swing momentum back to Copper Basin.
After the kickoff, with the Cougars at their own 25, a fumble on the first play turned the ball over again.
A 15-yard touchdown pass, and failed conversion, put the Pirates up 12-0 with less than five minutes gone in the game. But the frigid weather was still failing to chill Copper Basin.
Chase Mickens took the kickoff deep in Basin territory and raced up the right side all the way to the Pirates’ 25 yard line.
Then it was the South Pittsburg defense that forced the ball over on downs, and the visiting offense continued the scoring onslaught. At halftime, the Pirates had rolled up a 36-0 advantage.
Trailing 42-0, the Cougars finally got on the scoreboard as the fourth quarter moved into its second minute of play.
Six points came when Bryson Grabowski hit Dawson Worley for a pass covering well over half the length of the football field.
The Cougars couldn’t convert the extra point.
Copper Basin tried an onside kick, which the Pirates recovered. This began another scoring surge for the visitors. Barely more than three minutes later, the Pirates’ lead had climbed to 56-6. Another big Grabowski to Worthy connection, this one covering 42 yards, gave Copper Basin a first down on the Pirates’ 23.
Then Grabowski hit Mickens for a six-pointer with 2:25 to go in the game, closing the scoring gap to 56-12.
Jordan Johnson stepped up to recover the onside kick for Copper Basin, putting the Cougars half the field away from the goal line.
With the line of scrimmage at South Pittsburg’s 31, Grabowski threw his third touchdown pass of the evening, hitting Logan Burkett and putting the final points on the scoreboard that read 56-18 at the buzzer.
The Cougars ended their regular season 6-4, bouncing back after posting a 1-9 record last year. I was proud of our energy throughout the game.
Head coach Chad Grabowski was proud of the way his team played saying, “We did a great job of getting excited when we made big plays. I was happy with the way we finished the game and helped with our momentum going into this weeks game against Gordonsville in the first round of the playoffs at home.
We need everyone at the game to cheer on these boys as they start their run in the playoffs!”
The kickoff is slated to start at 7 p.m.