The Cougars defeat the Raiders 6-0.
This first game of the flag football season pitted the Plant City Raiders against the Durant Cougars. The game started with the Raiders getting the ball. They started with an end round run for decent gain. Nikeya King had a nice flag pull for the Cougars, but not before the Raiders got the first down. The Raiders then threw back-to-back incompletions. After a short reception, the Raiders were forced to punt it.
On the Cougars’ first offensive possession, Lia Cobbs found Jordan Smith for a nice gain. Cobbs then found Icyss Lopez, bringing the Cougars to midfield. After a Raiders sack, the Cougars were forced to punt it.
The Raiders found themselves on third and short and Brylie Edwards got an interception for the Cougars. Following the interception, Cobbs threw it deep to Edwards for a big gain for the Cougars. Cobbs then threw two short passes, making it third and goal. Cobbs threw it toEdwards again for the Cougars’ first touchdown of the season. The Cougars lined up to go for one and didn’t convert. The score was 6-0 to end the first quarter.
The Raiders got the ball to start the second. They were struggling to get the offense moving on this drive with an incomplete pass, followed by a short gain. Emily Blair had a nice pass breakup for the Cougars, forcing the Raiders to punt it on a 3 and out. After an incomplete pass, Cobbs found Lopez for a nice gain. On third down, Cobbs found Edwards for the first down. The Raiders got an interception and took over near midfield. The Raiders called a timeout after an incomplete pass. A short pass, followed by a pitch for a small gain, brought up third down. On the next play, there were flags on both teams, so the offsetting penalties made it a replay on third down. The Raiders did a direct snap on third for a nice gain. They went for it on 4th down, and didn’t convert, thanks to an impressive flag grab from Nikeya King. After a Raiders incomplete, the 2-minute warning was called. Cobb passed it to Lopez for a short gain, bringing up 3rd and long. A scramble by Cobb went for a solid gain, but not enough for the first down. The Cougars lined up to punt it, and the Raiders got the ball with under a minute left in the half. The Raiders quarterback had a solid run, followed by a first down, forcing the Cougars to call their final timeout of the half. Janiya Hutchinson had a nice flag pull for the Cougars to end the half. The score was 6-0 at halftime.
The Cougars got the ball first to start the second half. On the very first play, the Raiders got an interception with good field position. Lopez had a great flag pull for the Cougars on a short Raiders gain. Lopez then almost had an interception, but it brought up a third and long. After another incompletion, the Raiders lined up to punt it. Jordan Smith had a solid return for the Cougars. Cobbs threw it deep on first down, but the pass was almost intercepted again. After two more Cougars incompletions, they were forced to punt it. The Raiders took over at midfield. Layla White had an interception for the Cougars, and they took over at midfield. Cobbs kept it to herself for a nice run on 2nd down. After another incompletion, the Cougars lined to punt it, ending the quarter with the Cougars up 6-0.
On the first play of the 4th, Layla White did it again for the Cougars, as she got her 2nd interception of the game. Cobbs found Emily Blair for a short gain on first down. Cobbs found Jordan Smith for a nice gain, forcing the Cougars’ hand as they lined up to go for it on 4th down. The Cougars got the first down with a nice end round play to Smith. A penalty on the Raiders moved the Cougars up due to illegal contact. The Cougars threw an interception, and the Raiders took over. The drive started with back-to-back incompletions by the Raiders. A short run by the Raiders made it 4th down, and they lined up to go for it with 2:28 left in the game. The pass was incomplete, and the Cougars took over with great field position at the 2 minute warning. Cobbs had a short run and the Raiders quickly called a timeout with 1:47 left. Lopez had a direct snap for the Cougars and had a solid gain. Layla White took a direct snap, making it 4th and goal for the Cougars. The Cougars didn’t convert, with 40 seconds left in the game, and the Raiders took over. Emily Blair then got an interception for the Cougars to ice the game. The Cougars kneeled and won 6-0.
