By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
PINEVILLE – Cooper Scott saved what quite frankly could only be described as an ugly football game Friday night.
Scott, Menard’s 220-pound senior linebacker and running back, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead Menard to a 16-7 win over Pineville Friday night, enlivening a game that featured 11 fumbles, seven turnovers and a total of two points through three quarters.
Despite not touching the football through the first five quarters of the season, Scott had his number called late in the second quarter after the Eagles (1-1) lost three fumbles and failed to get anything going offensively.
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking the first few (carries) when you don’t have the ball and you’re about to get it,” Scott said of being called upon offensively, “but after that I felt like I was in a groove and just kept going.”
Late in the third quarter, Scott began to find his groove. He ripped off runs of 15 and 14 yards on consecutive plays, but that Eagle drive stalled with a missed Ryan Hicks field goal.
Early in the fourth quarter, Scott again got going on the ground, this time emphatically finishing an Eagle drive with a 10-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 9-0 lead. It was the game’s first score since the Eagles got a safety following a bad snap on a punt at the end of Pineville’s first possession.
“In the offseason I told these offensive coaches that Cooper Scott is one of our best players,” said Menard coach David Perkins, who picked up his first victory as a head coach Friday night. “He’s our Mike linebacker, but I said he’s got to play offense. We’ve got about 15, 20 guys who’ve got to go both ways. He did a great job on defense, and I’m just so proud of him.”
Scott’s touchdown seemed to ignite both teams, as the Rebels marched 85 yards on their next possession for a touchdown. Senior Jaylan Witty went 5-for-5 on the drive, accounting for all but one yard on the drive through the air.
Witty connected with Landon Grimes for 29 yards, Garrett Jackson for two short gains, and Landen Roberts for two deep passes as Witty rolled to his left, the first for 37 yards and the second for a 17-yard TD to pull the Rebels within two points.
The Rebel defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back and seemed to have all the momentum with a raucous crowd and possession in Eagle territory.
That’s when Scott made the biggest play of the game.
Scott ripped the ball out of Pineville senior fullback Sebastian Molette’s hands and raced untouched for 62 yards into the end zone to give the Eagles a 16-7 lead.
“It was pure chance,” Scott said of his strip-and-score. “It was either I stripped it and scored it, or he was scoring himself. I’m glad I did it, but in the end it was pretty risky.”
Scott’s second TD was more than enough for a stout Menard defense that limited Pineville to 6 rushing yards on 30 carries.
“Defense was just lights-out,” Perkins said. “We’re built on defense, and that’s our game plan. We want to play physical. We want to bring it to the other team. I think our offense plays physical, too, but our defense, they were the difference tonight.”
Scott finished with a game-high 84 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Eagles were held to 151 yards of total offense in the game. Witty finished 8-of-14 passing for 108 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Rebels’ offense gained just 114 yards in the contest.
Pineville coach Bryant Bell said he was disappointed in his team’s lack of execution offensively, adding the Rebels “couldn’t have played better defensively.”
“It’s my fault,” Bell said. “I’m responsible and obviously didn’t have them prepared tonight.”
TIOGA 34, BREAUX BRIDGE 28
Travis Adams scored three touchdowns in his season debut, while the Indians’ defense scored twice for the second straight week as Tioga withstood a furious Breaux Bridge rally Friday night.
The Indians (2-0) got two 3-yard touchdown runs from Adams in the first half as well as interception returns from Max Kadrmas, his second of the year, and Josh Loyd to open up a 28-0 lead.
Breaux Bridge, however, rallied to tie the score early in the fourth quarter thanks to a rushing touchdown by Cristian Matthews, two TD passes from senior quarterback Kelby Hypolite and an 11-yard run by Hypolite.
Adams, the 5-foot-9 junior running back who missed last week’s season opener due to illness, scored his third TD of the game, a 12-yarder, to provide the decisive points for the Indians.
“While we are very happy with running backs Corbin Zito and Kenny Ponthier, having Travis Adams back brings a new dimension of speed to our running attack and he has the best hands of all of our running backs,” Tioga coach Kevin Cook said.
Adams led Tioga with 95 rushing yards, while sophomore quarterback Cace Malone added 59 yards on the ground. Breaux Bridge limited the Indians’ passing attack to just 28 yards.
BTW-SHREVEPORT 52, BOLTON 6
The Bears gave up 50-plus points for the second straight week and dropped to 0-2 on the season.
Senior quarterback Connor McLain got the Bears on the scoreboard for the first time under first-year coach Clint Dean, scoring on a 5-yard keeper on a read option.
Bolton travels north of Shreveport next week to face off against North Caddo.
ELTON 35, NORTHWOOD-LENA 6
Sophomore quarterback A.J. Butler scored his third touchdown of the season early in the game to tie the score at 6, but from there on out it was all Elton as the Indians pulled away to victory.
Northwood coach Tommy Moore said his young Gators (0-2) competed throughout the game, but they made too many mistakes and busted too many assignments.
“Overall I am proud of the way we competed, and we will learn and grow from our mistakes,” Moore said.