Cougars inching closer to win with new coach

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Central-Coosa Cougars overcame a 14-point deficit twice to tie Childersburg late in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers broke the Cougars’ backs with a 72-yard sprint for a touchdown that gave Childersburg a 34-27 win.

The loss kept the Cougars winless, and first-year head coach Rick Cahalane said his team has to be more disciplined to finally turn the corner.

“The kids played hard, but we continue to make little mistakes, whether it’s a face mask, a hold or a fumble to keep us down,” Cahalane said. “We battled back all night to finally tie the game with about 6 minutes left, and we felt good about the situation. But, they ran a little counter trey, and we knew it was coming, but they broke a tackle and went the distance. We couldn’t manage to answer. We’re getting better and better, but we still don’t have one in the win column.”

The offense showed clear progress against Childersburg. Central-Coosa ran for 236 yards and passed for 66, both season highs. Quarterback Marcus Judkins was 10-of-17 through the air and picked up 120 yards on the ground in 14 carries. Chris Smoot added 66 more and John McGhee chipped in with 55 yards. Cahalane said installing a few spread formations has been beneficial for his players.

“We’ve got to create more situations to get Marcus out in space more,” Cahalane said. “He is the best athlete we’ve got. We’ve put some spread stuff in to help us do that, and it’s helped Marcus and guys like John McGhee and Chris Smoot. Offensively, we’ve come a long way, but the defensive coordinator has got to do a better job. And that guy is me. We’ve been outmanned some, but we haven’t done a good job of tackling. We’ve got to do a better job of stopping teams from moving the ball.”

Earning that first win won’t be easy this week, as No. 9 Handley comes into town. In three games, the Tigers have put up 147 points while allowing just 20. Handley’s Darius Finley scored 4 touchdowns and added 170 all-purpose yards in last week’s 49-13 Tiger win against Lincoln.

“A win against Handley would be great,” Cahalane said. “When you see them on film, they have no weaknesses. They’re big and physical and they don’t do anything fancy. They just get their big backs and run right at you. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”

The Cougars welcome Handley to Central Stadium Friday at 7 p.m.

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