By KURT NICOLL
Eleven days between games and Courtland coach J.C. Hall did not know what to expect from his football team.
As it turned out, neither did the Riverbend defense.
Antonio Smith put the Cougars ahead to stay on a nifty 45-run down the home sideline three minutes into the second quarter; Hakeem Moore beat the Bears' secondary badly to score on an 84-yard pass completion on the Cougars' next possession; and linebacker Adam Sheets killed a Riverbend drive late in the first half to spark the team's 31-7 victory last night.
Warner Williams finished with a game-high 120 yards on 19 carries as Courtland won its Battlefield District opener and improved to 3-2 on the season.
"We hadn't played in two weeks and that's why we looked a little sluggish in the first half," senior quarterback Jeremy Gardner said. "This is like the start of a rivalry right here, new team in the district and we knew that we had to get the job done.
"We didn't want any more mistakes. You could tell with the penalties that we were kind of rusty."
Riverbend (2-4, 0-2) needed just six plays to score after linebacker Josh Puig recovered a fumble at the Cougars' 24. Quarterback Austin Faulkner scored on a fourth-and-two call from the 4.
Moore exhibited his athleticism to outjump defender Ron Richmond for a 39-yard reception to the Bears' 37, leading to a 36-yard field goal by Tyler Weiss.
Courtland's next two scoring drives were concluded in rapid fashion. With excellent field position following a 22 yard punt, Gardner faked a handoff going to the left and gave Smith the ball headed in the opposite direction.
"[Riverbend] had been flowing really fast at some of our other action," Hall said. "It was a counter play and Antonio is small enough where he can hide behind some of our linemen. If he hits that crease, that's all he needs, he's fast enough to take it all of the way."
Tripped up on his first catch by Richmond, Moore left nothing to chance on his next reception. Catching the ball on the right sidelines and with no defender within 10 yards, the senior scored untouched on the play.
Sheets, a junior, stopped another Riverbend threat late in the third quarter when he spilled Cortez Cook for a 3-yard loss after the Bears had a first down at the Cougars' 2.
" I was a little concerned on a Monday coming off the weekend. We weren't sharp early on," Hall said. "We overcame some things. We were sluggish at first, but we kept our composure."
Riverbend | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 7 |
Courtland | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | -- | 31 |
SCORING
R--Austin Faulkner 4 run (Nick Wallace kick)
C--Tyler Weiss 36 field goal
C--Antonio Smith 45 run (Weiss kick)
C--Hakeem Moore 84 pass from Jeremy Gardner (Weiss kick)
C--Warner Williams 12 run (Weiss kick)
C--Gardner 5 run (Weiss kick)
TEAMSTATISTICS
R | C |
First downs13 | 16 |
Rushing yardage37-136 | 42-237 |
Passing yardage14 | 123 |
Passes1-8-1 | 2-4-0 |
Punts avg.5-34.2 | 0-0 |
Fumbles lost0-0 | 2-1 |
Penalties5-45 | 7-75
|
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Courtland--Warner Williams 19-120, 1 TD; Antonio Smith 1-45, 1 TDs; Jeremy Gardner 7-35, 1 TD; Dwayne Robinson 5-41; Ben Vokes 8-38; Baron Braswell 1-3; Aaron Harper 1--4. Riverbend--Cortez Cook 4-30; Ron Richmond 5-31; Matt Sheaffer 8-23; Austin Faulkner 9-15, 1 TD; Ryan Richmond 7-27; Joe Gadson 3-7; Dan Ellia 1-3.
Passing: Courtland--Jeremy Gardner 2-4-0, 123 yards. Riverbend--Austin Faulkner 1-8-1, 14 yards.
Receiving: Courtland--Hakeem Moore 2-123. Riverbend--Matt Sheaffer 1-14.
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