By T. Scott Boatright
It started on the game’s opening play, when Micah Taylor raced the opening kickoff back 85 yards for a score.
And Cedar Creek maintained that pace for the rest of the first half as the Cougars roared to a 60-6 win over Plain Dealing in a game that saw a running clock start midway through the second quarter.
The Cougars’ second score came only 3:01 into the contest as Trigger Woodard powered his way to paydirt on a 2-yard run that pushed Cedar Creek’s advantage to 13-0.
And after holding the Tigers to a second straight three-and-out possession to start the game, Cedar Creek mounted a five-play drive that began at its own 28-yard line with Peyton Harris breaking free on a 31-yard scoring scamper to push the Cougars’ lead to 20-0.
Taylor was back at it on the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing series as he pricked off a pass to give the ball back to the Cougars at the Plain Dealing 45.
Five plays later Harris broke free on a 19-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 26-0 with 1:07 remaining in the opening stanza.
“It’s funny, but when I first started coaching here in the fall of 2015, Micah was the ballboy,” Angevine said. “So it’s really cool to watch the ballboy turn into a ballhawk. He’s got five or six interceptions so far this year. He’s just playing lights out.
“He was thrown into the fire last year as a freshman. Physically he wasn’t ready, mentally I don’t think he was ready, but he had to grow up. He had a great offseason and he’s buying in to what we’re preaching and the kid is just playing lights out football right now. He’s making a name for himself as being one of the best players on the defensive side of the ball in the entire district right now. The kid’s awesome.”
On the first play from scrimmage following Harris’ second touchdown run, Cedar Creek’s Gunner Fontenot stepped in front of a Plain Dealing pass and returned it 17 yards for a pick six that put the Cougars on top 33-0 with :24 seconds left in the first quarter.
Cedar Creek’s scoring parade continued in the second quarter as the Cougars forced a punt after holding Plain Dealing to a three-and-out possession before quarterback Brett Bell called his own number and took the ball 44 yards for a score to push the lead to 40-0 with 10:49 remaining before halftime.
Plain Dealing’s lone score came on the ensuing possession after a fumbled ball was scrapped up and returned 42 yards for a touchdown to cut Cedar Creek’s lead to 40-6.
But after a 43-yard kickoff return by Noah Smith, the Cougars scored again on the next play as Harris raced to the end zone on a 29-yard run to put Cedar Creek on top 47-6 with 8:53 left in the first half.
Harris finished with 142 yards and his three scores on only seven carries, all in the first half.
“Peyton Harris is a special athlete,” Angevine said. “He’s only a freshman, which is incredible. You watch him play — his speed, his takeoff, it’s incredible. He’s getting better every single week. We told him after the Loyola game, after Hayden Durrett was out that we were going to put the weight of the world on his shoulders and asked if he was ready to carry out. He said, ‘Give me the rock, I’m ready.’ And he’s proving week in and week out that he’s ready to do that.”
Luke Easley’s 16-yard TD run with 6:34 left in the second quarter started a running block as the Cougars moved on top 54-6.
Easley finished with 87 yards on 12 carries but did reaggravate a shoulder injury suffered earlier this season on a 2-yard run in the game’s final minutes.
“He got to come up and made some good plays in the second half,” Angevine said of Easley. “He’s really been helping us in the back half as a rotational piece and giving us a chance to not play Peyton Harris as much on defense to keep him fresh as our workhorse.
“Luke’s been doing a phenomenal job. As soon as we got the OK for him to come back out and start getting some physical reps, we were all excited. He was excited. He’s done a great job in practice and had a great game tonight. The thing is, he had no clue about (organized) football until this year. The things he’s been able to do so far, it’s been awesome. The kid is just a natural athlete. Once we teach him the game of football, he’s going to be special.”
Angevine was particularly proud of the way his starters handled being on the sidelines the entire second half of the contest while staying focused on the game.
“I think there’s some moments when it can kind of get away from them, but I think our staff did a really good job of getting all of our guys off the bench,” Angevine said. “What I loved is we had those starters on the sideline in the third and fourth quarter cheering and coaching and everything else, and we need that.
“It helps build chemistry. It helps build culture in the program where everybody is supporting each other. So, they did a good job of that tonight. That kind of thing really helps us.”
The Cougars (4-2, 2-0 in District 1-1A) now turn their attention to next week’s road game at No. 1 Haynesville.
“We’re just going to work on the little things and try to scheme them up,” Angevine said. “We’re not going to try to get too fancy. They’re a really good ballclub. They’ve got really good coaches. If you go and look at their stadium — Red Franklin Stadium — you see all the titles they have.
“They’re tough. We’ve just got to come in with the best gameplan we have and see what we can do.”
