by Malcolm Butler
After an emotional effort against OCS last weekend, Cedar Creek head coach William Parkerson said he was worried about a slow start Thursday night when his Cougars faced off against Lincoln Prep in District 2-1A action.
He was halfway right.
While the Cougars offense sputtered for most of the opening half, the Cedar Creek defense was stellar from start to finish, leading Parkerson and Co. to a 44-0 win over the Panthers.
“I thought we came out a little flat, and I was scared about that after last week,” said Parkerson. “But we challenged them at halftime.”
Challenged received.
Cedar Creek (4-4, 1-1) held Lincoln Prep (2-6, 0-2) to only two first downs and 30 total yards of offense on the night while forcing three turnovers, including a pick six by Noah Durrett late in the second quarter that gave the Cougars a 20-0 halftime lead.
“Defensively, this was our third shutout of the year,” said Parkerson. “We keep playing really good football on that side of the ball, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
And while the Creek defense smothered the Lincoln Prep offense, the Cougars offensive unit started to heat up in the second half.
“We told them at halftime that we are going to run our base plays,” said Parkerson. “We aren’t bailing you out. We are either going to get better at it or not. And we figured some things out in the second half. If that’s who we can be then there is another gear that we can find. That was encouraging to see.”
Quarterback Ladd Thompson rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries while Lawson Lillo added 60 yards on nine totes to lead a Creek rushing attack that totaled 294 yards on the ground.
“I thought Ladd read the triple option better than he has all year,” said Parkerson. “If that can become consistent, then the offense can find a second gear.”
James Myers got the scoring started for the Cougars in the first quarter on a 25-yard TD run with 9:56 to play in the opening quarter to cap a five-play, 50-yard drive by Creek.
It appeared the Cougars would score on their second possession of the night, but a fumble inside the red zone stopped the drive. It was one of three turnovers on the night for Creek.
“We cleaned that up in the second half,” said Parkerson. “I thought the offensive line in the third and fourth quarter really started asserting themselves and owned the line of scrimmage. Brice Martin had a pancake (block) on three straight plays which is always encouraging to see. I just love to see an offensive lineman play with a nasty attitude. And our line started doing that in the second half.”
Thompson added a pair of scoring runs, the first covering three yards early in the second quarter and giving Cedar Creek a 14-0 advantage. Durrett’s 49-yard interception return for a score with 3:06 to play before halftime completed the first half scoring as the Cougars led 20-0.
Thompson’s second TD of the night came from seven yards out with 3:24 to play in the third quarter and made the score 28-0.
Following a Kade Luker interception, the Cougars marched 40 yards and scored on Wyatt Gremillion’s 3-yard TD run with 11:53 to play in the game to make it 36-0. Gremillion added a 1-yard TD run with 6:10 remaining and Blake Wade’s two-point conversion pushed the Creek lead to 44-0.
“Wyatt Gremillion is growing up in front of our eyes,” said Parkerson. “He had a couple of touchdowns tonight. That guy hits it hard like he is shot out of a cannon every time. I am proud of him. Kade got the last series and I thought he read the option well.”
Durrett led the Creek defense with six tackles while Gray Worthey and Blake Robinson each added five tackles. Alex Simpson had three tackles for loss totaling minus 16 yards. Simpson and Conner Rolen each recorded a fumble recovery — two of the four turnovers forced in the game by Creek.
The Cougars will end the regular season next Thursday when they host St. Frederick’s at 7 p.m. for Senior Night.
“It was a good team win,” said Parkerson. “I thought a lot of kids played well tonight.”
