by Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek takes a 3-1 record and a load of confidence into tonight’s matchup against Delta Charter at Origin Bank Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on 99.3 FM with Ray Creasy and Ben Haddox providing a call of the action.
The Cougars (3-1, 1-0) step out of District 1-1A action to face Delta Charter (2-2). The Storm have posted wins over LaSalle (48-8) and Vidalia (52-6) and lost to Ferriday (69-24) and Logansport (14-8).
Creek is coming off an impressive 31-8 win over District 1-1A rival Glenbrook last week, a historic victory for the Cougars.
“Our team was pretty fired up after last week’s win,” said head coach Jacob Angevine. “It was the first time these seniors have beaten Glenbrook going back to their pee wee days. It’s been a long time coming and to be able to do it on our home field was pretty special.
“It gave us all the confidence in the world. We know we are a different ball club from last year when we won one game. We know that there is a new mentality and a new culture. And the expectation is to win no matter who we are playing.”
After posting a 1-9 mark last year, Cedar Creek has put the past behind them, winning three of their first four games. Tonight the Cougars hope to make it four out of five against a Storm team that uses a strong round game.
Last week against the Apache, the Creek defense held Glenbrook to negative five yards rushing on 21 attempts. However, this week’s test may be a little tougher.
“Delta Charter likes to pound the rock,” said Angevine. “They have a pretty physical offensive line. They have a running back and a quarterback that can absolutely go. They don’t depend too much on a passing game because they are able to run the ball so effectively. They have a couple of really good fullbacks and tight ends that they utilize in the running game.”
Offensively, the Cougars continue to rely on their own ground attack. Despite the loss of Hayden Durrett to a knee injury, Cedar Creek still ran for 217 yards last week, including 89 from freshman tailback Payton Harris and 86 from junior QB Brett Bell.
Angevine believes tonight’s opponent may have to make some adjustments from their normal defensive alignment.
“Defensively, they base out of a 3-3,” said Angevine. “They love to bring pressure off the edges. They have some guys that in space are very athletic and can cause issue. I think it will be a good match-up. They may have to make some adjustments to our run-heavy attack so we may see a five- or six-man front.”
At the end of the night regardless of what the Cougars face on either side of the ball, Angevine has trust in the trenches.
“whenever we line it up we are going to rely on our offensive and defensive lines and we know they are going to keep us in ball games and win them for us,” said Angevine. “Our bread and butter is running the football.”
