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Wlaf1450By Jake Miller
TOP PHOTO: Drew Croley (81) celebrates with Timothy Russell (66) and Tyler Cook (1).
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- It was the start of a new season as the Campbell County Cougars went up against the Lenoir City Panthers on Friday.
Entering the season, coming off an 0-10 season last year, Head Coach Taylor Ownbey and new Offensive Coordinator Tyler Drummer looked to set the tone early and in a lot of ways, saw a lot of success early.
A very important stop on LC’s opening possession set up the Cougars to drive down the field in a revitalized offense for kicker Drew Croley to strike first and take a 3-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The Panthers relied heavily on the pass early, but would eventually result to putting the ball in the hands of senior running back Caden Jay to get its first points of the year on a controversial call on 4th down. In this case, the line judge on the near side of the field signaled that the player’s knee hit the field prior to crossing the goal line, but was overruled by the head line judge to give Lenoir City a 7-3 lead.
CC junior running back Braydon Graham answered right back with a touchdown of his own as senior quarterback Silas Weaver, led by a host of Cougar receivers, moved him into position to put the ball in the end zone as Campbell County regained the lead 10-7.
The Panther defense forced its first turnover of the game on a fumble to set themselves up regain the lead. An interception sent the Panthers heading into halftime with a 21-10 lead.
The Cougars late first half struggles looked as if they were going to continue at first with a fumble to start the second half. Even though they trailed by as many as 18 points, the Cougar offense did not let up with Braydon Graham getting his second touchdown of the night.
The Cougars put together a rally with just under 10 minutes to go in the third quarter when Silas Weaver lofted a pass to the left side of the east end zone to Sam Sexton who had gotten behind three defenders. With the score 35-23, the Cougars tried for a two point conversation but it failed.
Quarterback Silas Weaver found Tyler Cook, Max Boshears, and Sam Sexton to keep Campbell County in the ballgame for the majority of the second half. Weaver finished with three touchdowns through the air showing the determination of this team to play a complete game.
With the clock winding down inside of a minute left to play, Lenoir City tacked on one final touchdown to make the final score 56-30.
Jake’s Take
Although this team got punched in the mouth, the grit and hustle proved that this team is hungry for a win and will fight like heck to get there. With five total turnovers by the Cougars, all leading to touchdowns for the Panthers, it really makes you wonder how different the game could have been.
In the post game huddle, Coach Ownbey reiterated to his team that they played a complete game, did not quit, and a new week starts on Monday as the Cougars get set to do battle with Cherokee next Friday night at 7:30 on Reynolds Field.
I have said all offseason that this is a completely different team, and Friday night proved that, and as a community, it gives us every reason to come out Aug. 28 and show everyone watching and listening on WLAF that this community stands behind our guys. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-08/24/2026-6AM)