Cougars defeat TKA 21-13

TOP PHOTO: Timmy Gibson (11) and Austin Jordan (2) celebrate a 4th down stop at Friday’s game. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRADY HATMAKER)

By Clayton Carroll

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- The Cougars, after having a rough start to the season following losses to Halls and Fulton, looked for a win on Friday night. Their opponent, also needing a win, was The Kings Academy. The two squads played a barnburner last year at Seymour. It ended with Timmy Gibson taking a slant route to the house on fourth down and long to give Campbell Co. the victory.

On Friday, TKA entered short on players. Only twenty-two players suited up for the Lions, which on paper, boded well for the Cougars’ offense, which likes to wear their opponents down.

The Orange-and-Blue started off the game with a near perfect drive. Timmy Gibson, the hero in last years’ TKA game, along with Keegan Cowan had some big runs to sustain the drive. Campbell County’s march down the field ended with quarterback Luke Lindsay finding Gavin Owens for a catch-and-run touchdown. Rylan Sanders capped off the drive with the PAT. Campbell was on top 7-0.

On that drive, Campbell’s offensive line led by Robert Kirby, Josh Ramsey, Dorian Cable, Aiden Evans, and Jake Lawson carved paths for running backs Owens, Cowan, and Gibson.

TKA answered to tie the game at seven at the end of the first quarter. 

Quarterback Luke Lindsay and wideout Paul Stassek connected in the second quarter for a 46 yard pass, completion and run. Gibson then ran in a seven yard jet sweep for Campbell’s second touchdown of the game.

Campbell County’s defense was also strong in Friday’s matchup. In the second quarter, Blake Albright intercepted a TKA pass. Also, Jace Cloyd, Logan Belew, Luke Lindsay, and Caden Idles, all had pivotal tackles in the contest. Blake Albright got in on the fun with an interception, giving the methodical Campbell offense the football once again.

The Cougars put together another long drive, one that ended with a Luke Lindsay QB sneak into the end zone, pushing the lead to 21-7.

TKA never gave up, making for a very competitive football game. The Lions struck back, narrowing their deficit to 21-13 after the missed PAT.

Campbell controlled the ball much of the remaining clock, only allowing TKA about three minutes to have a chance to tie the game.

The Lions drove, but that drive crashed thanks to a Sam Sexton interception to seal the deal for Campbell County.

The Orange and Blue now advances to 1 and 2 on the season, claiming their first victory under Head Coach Mark Pemberton. Coach Pemberton was proud of his guys. He said “Are we where we need to be yet? No, we’re not. But I think they (our team) responded.” He said that the running game improved much since last week, and he wants to see the Cougars grow more from Friday night to Campbell County’s first district challenge at Clinton this week.

Campbell travels south on I-75 to the 122 exit Friday night for a 7pm kickoff at Clinton. The Dragons enter with the same record as the Cougars, 1 and 2. Clinton is also fresh off a win. The Dragons defeated Scott 48-13 on Friday night at Huntsville. 

Les Martin, Brent Allen and Josh Parker send you coverage of Cougar Football beginning at 6:30 pm over the WLAF-Doyle’s Tire Sports Network which consists of AM 1450, FM 100.9, WLAF-TV Channel 1089, 1450wlaf.com, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/09/2024-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRADY HATMAKER-Instagram: @bhat_vizualz)

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