Dave Helmick
TuckerCountySports.Com
BAKER – The Mt. Lions traveled down Corridor H to East Hardy last Friday October 9th. The #9 Cougars dominated the game on offense and held the Mt. Lions scoreless in the game to pick up the win 40-0.
Tucker County won the toss and received the opening kick and went on offense first. East Hardy held the Mt. Lions on 3 plays to force a punt. The Cougars then went to work on offense from their own 37 yard line. East Hardy took the ball down the field on a 7 play 63 yard drive that was capped off by a 26 yard touchdown pass from Corey McDonald to Bryce Strawderman. The extra point kick was missed to make the score 6-0 Cougars with 7:23 left in the first quarter. The Mt. Lions were forced to punt again on their next possession and East Hardy took over on their own 21. This time the Cougars went 79 yards on 6 plays and McDonald connected with Aden Funkhouser on a 21 yard touchdown pass with 3:47 left in the first to up the East Hardy lead to 12-0.
In the second quarter Tucker County moved the ball on offense. The drive stalled at the East Hardy 20 yard line after a failed 4th down on the 11th play of the drive. The Cougars wasted no time when they went back on offense. This time East Hardy took only 2 plays as McDonald connected with Tim Hahn on a 54 yard touchdown pass. The extra point kick was no good to make the score 18-0 with 9:34 left in the second quarter. The Mt. Lions were forced to punt after picking up 1 first down on their next drive. Then a bad snap caused punter Daniel Kisamore to be downed at their own 10 yard line. East Hardy could not take advantage of the great field position and turned the ball over on downs. Tucker County failed to move the ball again and punted the ball to East Hardy. This time the Cougars need just 1 play as McDonald connected with Strawderman for a 75 yard touchdown pass with 1:15 left in the first half. The 2 point conversion was good to increase the Cougars lead to 26-0. On the ensuing kick the Mt. Lions fumbled the ball back to East Hardy and the Cougars started at the Tucker County 27. The East Hardy offense would strike again 5 plays later on a 5 yard touchdown pass from McDonald to Strawderman with 12 seconds left in the half. The PAT kick was good to give the Cougars a 33-0 lead at the half.
East Hardy got the first possession to start the third quarter and started from the Tucker County 47 yard line. The Mt. Lions would then force a fumble to give the ball back to the offense and deny the Cougars another score with 9:33 left in the third. Both teams failed to sustain a drive the rest of the third quarter and the score remained 33-0 Cougars after three quarters.
The East Hardy starters remained in the game in the fourth quarter and with 9:18 left in the game McDonald connected with Hahn for a 10 yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick was good to make the score 40-0. Tucker County then put together a drive that stalled after 12 plays at the Cougars 5 yard line with 3:30 left in the contest. East Hardy was looking for more as their starters remained in the contest, but the Mt. Lions defense stepped up. Tucker County held the Cougars out of the end zone the rest of the contest to make the final score 40-0 East Hardy.
Tucker County was led by Daniel Kisamore with 21 carries for 90 yards rushing and 6 of 15 passing for 33 yards. Zach Bishoff finished with 12 carries for 25 yards and Cole Rapp added 4 carries for 23 yards for the Mt. Lions. East Hardy was led by quarterback Corey McDonald with 388 yards passing, 6 TD’s.
Tucker County(3-4) will be idle this week and will return to action at home on Friday October 23rd against Pendleton County, kickoff is set for 7:30pm. Radio broadcast coverage will be provided by 94.7FM WELK, pregame starts at 7pm. For more Tucker County Sports info visit TuckerCountySports.Com.
