Penalties costly in Dawgs loss to East View
By STEVE MCWHORTER
Cove Leader-Press
Copperas Cove fell for the second straight week in non-district play to a Georgetown team.
The East View Patriots topped the Bulldawgs 40-21. The first week’s game was notable for the lack of penalties and clean play by both teams. This week’s outing was marred by many personal foul calls on both teams and included a player being ejected from each team.
The Bulldawgs and Patriots were evenly matched throughout the first half but the Bulldawgs stumbled in the second half and mistakes allowed the Patriots to win handily.
Coach Tony Johnson expressed some frustration with how the team played.
“Our schedule doesn’t get any easier, there are no cupcakes on our schedule at all. Last week we had a lot of offense but not many points. Tonight we had offensive moments but couldn’t stop them, then we give up a touchdown on special teams.
“All three phases, in my mind, played about 50 percentwell, we didn’t expect our defense to get lit up like that. Their kids played very well,” Coach Johnson said, noting the exceptional play of the Patriots quarterback Ty Blair.
East View Patriots had the first drive of the night. They moved down the field effectively thanks to the arm of their quarterback, Ty Blair. The Copperas Cove Bulldawg defense stiffened and the Patriots were forced to kick a field goal.
The next drive for the Bulldawgs and the Patriots both resulted in punts.
The Bulldawgs drove the length of the field on the ensuing drive. The Dawgs quaterback Micah Casson worked the sidelines to Demetrius Pearce for consecutive first downs. Casson threw a 26-yard touchdown to Trishtin Glass to complete the drive. The Bulldawgs successfully scored on the 2-point conversion with a run by Malik Cuthbert. Bulldawgs went up 3-8.
The Patriots answered with a long drive for a touchdown, bringing the score to 10-8.
Both teams had to punt on their next drives.
Copperas Cove marched the ball down the field with under four minutes in the half. The Bulldawgs fumbled the ball on the East View 9-yard line and lost possession.
The Patriots’ quarterback connected on a pass for a 65-yard touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the half, widening their lead to 17-8.
Copperas Cove received the ball with two minutes left in the half. Micah Casson and Malik Cuthbert combined for seven straight rushes and moved the ball 63 yards for a touchdown. For the touchdown run, Cuthbert shed two tacklers in the backfield to rush for the score. Copperas Cove failed to convert the 2-point conversion.
The Bulldawgs went into halftime down 17-14 but with the momentum.
The Bulldawgs then started the second half down 17-14. The first play from scrimmage was a 20-yard run negated by a holding call. This set the tone for a messy second half of football. Cove eventually turned the ball over on downs near midfield.
During the ensuing Patriot drive the Bulldawg defense stepped up, resulting in the drive netting a five-yard loss.
After the Patriot punt, the Bulldawgs started on their own 30-yard line. Casson connected with Miller for a 30-yard touchdown catch and run. The extra point was good leading the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs to their only lead of the second half.
The Bulldawgs’ lead was short-lived. The Patriots returned the next kick-off for 70 yards. The successful 2-point conversion brought moved the Patriots ahead 25-21.
Copperas Cove was forced to punt on their next drive.
East View moved the ball down the field quickly. A 28-yard pass moved them to the 2-yard line and set up the touchdown on the next play. The 2-point conversion was successful and the Patriots extended their lead to 33-21.
During the ensuing kickoff the Bulldawgs showed some spark, Nakeem Freeman ran the kickoff to the 35-yard line but the ball was moved back to the 20 due to a holding penalty. Copperas Cove punted after three plays.
The Copperas Cove defense toughened up during the next East View drive but the Patriots were successful in converting a 4th and long. The Patriots scored a touchdown on a 25-yard pass to make the score 40-21.
Copperas Cove took the field with under eight minutes left in the game. Trishton Glass ran the kickoff to the 34-yard line on an exciting return but a personal foul against the Bulldawgs after the play moved the ball back.
Two back-to-back fouls on the Patriots moved the Bulldawgs to the East View 44-yard line but it came at a cost. The Bulldawg quarterback, Micah Casson, received a nasty hit that resulted in a targeting penalty and ejection for the Patriot player. Casson would not return the rest of the game.
Backup quarterback Anthony King replaced Casson and led the team to the East View 20-yard line but an interception on the 4-yard line gave the Patriots the ball and dashed any hopes of a Bulldawg comeback.
Looking forward to next week Coach Johnson said, “We have to figure out a way to get some pass rush, we aren’t getting any pass rush. Then we have to figure out a way to sustain drives on offense and improve special teams.”
The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs play their home opener next week against the Manor Mustangs in Bulldawg Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on the night set to honor men and women in uniform with Military Appreciation night.