by Malcolm Butler
Quite frankly, it was a game that last year’s version of the Cedar Creek Cougars would have lost.
But Friday night at Origin Bank Stadium, the 2025 Cougars dug deep … way deep … and found a way to prevail 19-14 over Delhi Charter in the head coaching debut for Jacob Angevine.
However, the win didn’t come without some late-game tension.
The Cougars almost saw victory slip through their hands, literally.
Leading by five with just over two minutes to play and facing a fourth down and 20, Creek (1-0) lined up to punt in an effort to flip the field and force the Gators to drive the distance.
However, the snap sailed through the hands of Creek punter Campbell Woodard, who fell on the football on his own 23-yard line and setting up Delhi Charter in excellent position.
A win would mean one more defensive stand by a Cougars defense that was stellar in the final two quarters.
Battling cramps and exhaustion – and quite honestly probably a few ghosts from last year’s 1-9 season –the Cougars stood tall.
On fourth down and three from the 16-yard line with less than a minute to play, Ryan Coleman shot past the Delhi Charter offensive lineman and buried the Gators QB on a keeper for a four-yard loss.
It sealed the victory and sent the Creek sideline and faithful into a wild celebration.
“We have grit,” said the headband wearing, sweaty Coleman following the game.
It took plenty of grit during the almost 3-hour ball game.
Creek came out firing on all cylinders offensively, marching 62 yards on nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Hayden Durrett, who was questionable to play all week, took a handoff and bulldozed his way into the endzone from two yards out to give the Cougars the early advantage.
Durrett rushed 16 times for 88 yards and two scores, constantly carrying would be tacklers with him for extra yards.
“Hayden text me this morning and said, ‘Coach I don’t care. I’m good,’” said Angevine. “I said if you are ready to rock and your parents are ready to rock, then let’s go. Hayden was a game changer.”
Delhi Charter didn’t take long to answer.
After a bad snap left the Gators second down and 33-yards to go, Delhi Charter ran a toss play where the Cougars’ defenders lost containment as the ball carrier raced 59 yards down the sideline to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:19 to play in the opening quarter.
The rest of the first half was relatively quiet for the Cougars’ offense.
The only big play was a 53-yard TD run by quarterback Brett Bell that was negated due to a holding penalty – one of two long scoring runs by the junior that were called back in the game.
With the two teams knotted at 7 apiece, Cedar Creek gambled late in the second quarter and lost.
On a fourth down and one from it’s own 31-yard line, Coleman took a handoff but was held just short of the line to gain, giving the ball back to the Gators.
Four plays later, DC scored on a quarterback keeper from the seven-yard line to take a 14-7 lead into the halftime locker room.
“We told them that we just needed to worry about us,” said Angevine on his message in the halftime lockerroom. “It was the same message all week. The first TD we gave up, we over-corrected and we lost containment and the guy scored.
“And then we had them in a fourth down and forever and gave them the first down on a penalty. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We just needed to worry about us and what we do best.”
The message hit home.
Cedar Creek came out in the third quarter and made play after play after play defensively, forcing three second half turnovers.
Case Phillips stepped in front of a pass and picked it off on DC’s first offensive possession, giving the Cougars the football on the Gators 15-yard line.
Two plays later, Bell found Blake Robinson on a 14-yard TD pass n the back corner of the endzone to cut the deficit to 14-13. The potential game-tying extra point was blocked with 9:53 to play in the third quarter.
On the Gators’ next possession, Coleman fell on a fumble around midfield, once again giving the Cougars good field position. However, Creek was eventually forced to punt.
Cedar Creek finally regained the lead early in the fourth quarter.
After the Cougars defense stopped DC on a fourth down and six play around midfield, they took 11 plays to march 53 yards for the lead. Durrett toted the ball seven times on the drive, including a hardnosed run on third down and goal from the five as he made a cut, spun off a tackle and plowed forward.
“We saw it at the Bayou Jamb last week,” said Angevine. “Hayden is one of the best players in this area.”
The entire second half was littered with players on both teams constantly coming off the field with cramps.
“We had kids cramping left and right,” said Angevine. “They would be like, ‘Take me out for a play and I will go right back in.’ We have kids with a warrior mentality, and I could not be prouder of them tonight.”
It appeared as though Creek had sealed the win midway through the fourth quarter when Bell made another dynamic run.
After an acrobatic interception by Micah Taylor with 6:47 remaining, Bell faked a pitch to the left, tucked the football, bootlegged right and ran through a tackle on his way for a 57-yard TD run.
However, for the second time in the game, the highlight run was brought back due to a holding call and Cedar Creek eventually was forced to punt, setting up the final minute heroics by the Cougars defense – including Coleman’s fourth down stop.
“Honestly, I just said, ‘God, take the wheel,’” said Coleman. “He took the wheel and here we are.”
The Cougars totaled 135 yards on 40 carries despite more than 100 yards being negated due to the two holding calls. Bell was 3-of-6 for 20 yards and the one score with all three completions going to his tight ends (Trigger Woodard, Blake Robinson).
Delhi Charter totaled 149 yards on 29 carries, including the 59-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
With the victory, Creek matched its win total from last year.
“Last year was a tough season and had its bumps,” said Coleman. “This year we have a new group, a helluva coach. We are all one team. We are bonded together. I trust in every single guy around me.”
“We left it all out here tonight,” said Angevine. “Tonight was the first chapter in flipping the script and dang it was a good one.”
Creek will host Lakeview next Friday.
