Cougars bounce back, hold off Falcons
By Mike Hoffman Contributing sportswriter

Powering through for the score Carroll running back #32 Ben Bennington earns a touchdown with a strong second effort lunge Friday night against Frontier. Blocking on the play were #12 Skylar Bagwell and #73 Drake Harper. Bennington scored two running TDs to help the Cougars defeat the Falcons 28-17. Bill Stauffer photo

The Cougars bounced back from a disappointing loss last week to defeat the Frontier Falcons 28-17 in a non-conference game.

"I can't say enough about our kids," Carroll Coach Steve Keown said. "This was our sixth win, and it equals the wins we've had over the last three years combined."

Carroll kicked off to Frontier, who picked up a first down. The Falcons were forced to punt. The Cougars moved the ball and picked up two quick first downs. On a bad exchange the Cougars fumbled the ball. The Falcons recovered and moved the ball to the 15-yard line, running out of downs. They elected to try a 29-yard field goal which was good by Dylan Sterrett to put the Falcons up 3-0 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons, known for their trick plays, tried an offside kick on the kickoff. It worked. The ball hit a Carroll player and a Falcon fell on it. On a Falcon fumble the Cougars got the ball right back.

The Cougars wasted no time and marched down the field with Ben Bennington scoring on a 2-yard run. Skylar Bagwell's PAT kick was good and the score was 7-3 CHS.

The (6-2) Cougars scored all of their points in the second and third quarters and built a 28-3 lead before the (3-5) Falcons came storming back.

Riley Eller went to work and directed a two-minute drill to perfection. The Cougars scored just before halftime to go up 14-3. Eller connected with Carson Spesard on a 44- yard pass and followed that up with a 24-yard pass to Drew Yoder. That set up Bennington's second TD, a 2-yard run with 40.7 seconds left at halftime.

Carroll's 14 points in the second quarter was a blow to the Falcon defense that kept the Cougars in check over the first 24 minutes.

At the start of the third quarter Bagwell went around the end and went 63 yards for Carroll's third score. The Cougars were up 21-3 after Bagwell's PAT kick.

A strong defensive stand by the Cougars kept the Falcons from moving the ball. At the 5:39 (3) mark on the clock, Eller found Primmer Zook on a 50-yard TD pass. Bagwell's PAT kick was good. 28-3 CHS.

Falcon quarterback Dylan Sterrett was beginning to find his groove when he connected with Rigdon on a 30-yard TD pass. The PAT kick was good. 28-10, CHS.

On Frontier's next drive Sterrett struck quickly as he started throwing bombs and hit Neary with a 38-yard pass. With 5:18 left in the game, Sterrett found Neary for an 18-yard TD catch. The score was 28-17 with the Falcons on the move.

It was nail-biting time for the Cougars with the momentum on the Falcons' side. However, the Cougar defense came to life with some hard hitting by #44 Jonathan Bush, #50 Thomas Gillam, #60 Randy Hoffman, #51 Josh Pine, #32 Bennington, #19 Eller, to name a few. In Carroll's favor was time - it was running out. The Cougars claimed the sixth win.

Even though Coach Keown is proud of his players, he recognizes that there is always work to do with this team.

"Our guys have got to learn to play four quarters," Keown said. "We got up and I guess we took a break. Their kids fought hard all night long."

Spesard played well with 4 catches for 97 yards to lead the Cougars. Zook caught 1 for 50. Eller was 9 of 17 for 195 yards and 1 passing TD. The Cougars had 187 yards rushing. Bagwell had 9 carries for 96 yards and 1 TD, Bennington with 22 carries for 80 yards and 2 TDs and Drew Yoder with 5 carries for 11 yards.

The Cougars are at home Friday night against North White. Both teams have identical 6-2 records.

Sectionals start in two weeks. with the Cougars traveling to Royal Center to take on a powerful (6-2) Pioneer Panthers team.