Cougars 20, Badgers 12

The Cougars (1-2) gave up two touchdowns to the Badgers of Powder Valley High School in the non-league tilt’s first four minutes but nothing thereafter as the game settled into a field position battle.

But LKW rallied and finally took the lead with 11:44 remaining in the fourth quarter when Matai exploded through the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-2 sweep play for a 52-yard touchdown run that capped a 79-yard drive.

The sophomore fullback, who finished with 185 yards rushing, then fought his way in from the 3-yard line for the 2-point conversion that put the Cougars on top by eight.

LKW knotted the score at 12-all in the third quarter on a 46-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jeromie Mason that completed a march that began at LKW’s 41-yard line.

The Cougars’ first 6-pointer came early in the second quarter, on the last play of a 60-yard drive. Matai took the handoff from Mason at the Powder Valley 45, found a hole, broke a tackle and was off on his first trip into the end zone.

Powder Valley opened the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown pass on the game’s third play. The Badgers then took away the ensuing kickoff at the Cougars’ 27 and—after having a first-down pass nearly interceptedinside the 5—capitalized with a 27-yard scoring pass on fourth down to make it 12-0 with 7:53 left in the opening period.

The game came close to taking a disastrous turn for LKW on the following kickoff as Powder Valley recovered a directed kick at the home team’s 39.

And, as it did on its first two possessions, Powder Valley scored—this time on a 22-yard run by its quarterback, Trenton Dixon. The effort went for naught, though, when officials penalized the Badgers for blocking in the back.

Powder Valley regrouped from the setback and drove to LKW’s 4-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 3:43 to go in the first quarter.

The defensive stand—the first of many LKW would make—accomplished two things: It kept Powder Valley’s lead at 12-0 and it gave the Cougars their first possession.

LKW’s first drive netted just 25 yards before stalling, but it was a start after a nearly calamitous beginning.

The Cougars’ defensive unit, for its part, did everything it had to to give the offense a chance to get itself untracked: It recovered two fumbles and forced the Badgers to punt twice and turn the ball over on downs six times.

But it was never more tested than in the game’s final 3:11.

After LKW lost a fumble at the Powder Valley 30 while trying to close out its opponent, the Badgers drove to LKW’s 15 before losing ground and running out of downs at the 30 with 36 seconds left.

Coming Up: LKW entertains the No. 1-rated Class 1B team in Washington, Tri-Cities Prep, this Friday in the Southeast 1B League opener for both teams. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“They’re a very solid team,” Smith said of the 3-0 Jaguars. “They will spread the field with their quarterback, a very talented kid who can run, then stop on a dime and throw the ball over your head.”

LKW’s keys defensively will be to rush four and drop four in pass coverage on every play. “If we don’t, it will be a long night for us,” Smith said.

The Cougars’ key on offense will be “to block the best we have this year and keep the ball in our possession.”