New season, new coaches, young Cougar team
By Mike Hoffman

It's that time again. The 2006 high school football season officially started Friday night. The young Carroll Cougars took on the Tri-County Cavaliers at T-C's home field. The Cougars, with very little experience, got their first taste of varsity football. The results weren't very pretty. The Cavs took advantage of Carroll's youthful inexperience. When the horn sounded at the end of the game the Cavs had smoked the Cougars 33-6.

As this season moves forward this young team will pull together and become a unit. With only five seniors (only two with experience), five juniors (all with very little experience) and loaded with sophomores (who were on the JV team last year and have little or no varsity experience) and freshmen. Once this team gets it together and plays as a team, it will get better.

Give a warm welcome to the Cougars 2006 coaching staff. Head coach Rick George, who is retired from teaching, but not from coaching, as he returns to a program that was under his leadership before. His assistants are: Dan Butcher who has helped with Carroll's football

program for the past few years, and former CHS football players Tom Hall (Class of '82), Dave Mann (Class of '83), and Andy Zinn (Class of '93). Mann and Zinn were both quarterbacks, while Hall was a tailback. Hall and Mann both played under Coach George.

Friday night, the Cavs were very physical. The Cougars had a big mistake in the first quarter on a muffed punt. That led the Cavs to score as J.R. Fouts had a 10-yard run for a touchdown. The PAT was good. (7-0 3:37 yards on 5 plays). Tri-County scored twice in the second quarter on a 9-yard run by running back Justin

Schwab. The kick failed. James Taulman threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Schwab. The 2-point conversion failed. The Cavs went 95-yards for another score and the first half ended with the Cavs up 19-0.

In the third quarter at the 7:59 mark Schwab took advantage of some missed tackles by the Cougars. He went around and ran 61-yards for the score. The extra point failed, but the Cavs were up 25-0. They added another score when Derick Smith caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Taulman. Schwab ran the two-point conversion and that made the score 33-0.

The Cougar's lone score came on an 8-yard touchdown pass play. Riley Eller connected with Brandon Walters for six. The kick failed and the final score was 33-6.

The Cougars are preparing for the Annual Bacon Bowl county championship with Delphi Friday night. The Oracles lost their first game to the Lewis Cass Kings 35-13. The Oracles won last year's contest and have possession of the coveted skillet. The question is who wants the victory and county bragging rights? The game will be played at Delphi. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. at Berto Field.