Second-ranked PCHS scores final 27 points to beat Cook
ADEL — Two quick touchdowns in the opening three minutes of the second half helped second-ranked Pierce County pull away from a 13all tie at intermission en route to a 34-13 win here over Cook in the Region 3-AA opener for both teams.
The Bears moved to 7-0 for the third time in Ryan Herring’s seven seasons heading into this week’s bye. The Hornets (4-3 overall, 0-1 region), who lost for the third time in four games after a 3-0 start and Top 10 ranking, travel to Tattnall County (2-5, 0-1) Friday. The Warriors fell 35-3 at Crisp County (2-5, 1-0) “Every win is big this year, but this one is really big,” said Herring. “It’s the region opener on the road against a very good Cook team. They (Hornets) have a very good coach (Byron Slack) ... he’s a good football coach and that is a tough team.
“To come out in the second half and be as resilient as we were and to keep fighting says a lot about our players. We’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up offensively, though. We played hard defensively, but we’ve (coaches) got some things we’ve got fix on that side of the ball.”
The matchup pitted two of the top six scoring defenses in Class AA. PCHS entered third allowing 6.2 points while the Hornets were sixth at 12.8.
Cook controlled the first half snapping the ball 15 more times (3520), led in total yards (169-157) and had a six-minute advantage in time of possession (15:05-8:55) yet the score was even at 13-apiece.
“The thing we (coaches) did at halftime was to get the box cleaned up,” said Herring referencing the first two levels of the defensive unit. “We had some screw ups in the first half. We (coaches) didn’t go in and overhaul anything ... it was about cleaning up things. The other thing was to emphasize us tackling better.”
With a better understanding and better tackling, the Bears’ defense put the clamps on the Cook offense limiting the Hornets to just 67 yards on 21 plays during the final 24 minutes. PCHS’s offense got rolling and controlled the clock holding a 15:128:48 advantage in time of possession and a 240-67 total yard advantage.
Pierce County put together a scoring drive covering 91 yards in the first half and 92 yards in the second half. The first went the distance in seven plays and 3:58 of clock time. The second was a time-consuming 15-play drive eating up 7:59 off the clock spanning the third and fourth quarter sealing the game.
“I can’t remember if I’ve ever had two 90-yard drives in a game,” said Herring. “I’ve had some games with a couple of 80 yard drives. Those kept our defense off the field. We just kept pounding the ball and chipping away. Finally, you’ll start getting big chunks.”
Cook capitalized on the first of two Bears’ turnovers taking advantage of a short field to get the early lead. The Hornets moved from the PCHS 37 down to the 12 before stalling with a second down incompletion and third down run for no gain.
Brooks Moore, one of the top kickers in the nation, drilled a 29-yard chip shot for a 3-0 lead with 3:03 left on the first quarter clock.
Pierce County’s second possession began at its own nine after a penalty on the kickoff. Six running plays and two penalties against the Hornets moved the ball to the Cook 26.
Following a PCHS timeout to set up a thirdand- eight play, quarterback Drake Dowling (6-of-9, 88 yards) connected with Marquez Leggett in the flats. Leggett, after bobbling the ball, zigged and zagged through would-be tacklers en route to the 25-yard score on the second snap of the second period. Garrett Stevenson’s PAT gave the Bears a 7-3 advantage with 11:05 left in the half.
Cook followed with its best drive of the night with a 16-play, 75-yard go-ahead drive eating up 7:02 off the clock. The Hornets kept the possession moving forward converting on third down three times and scored on a third down attempt from a yard out.
Freshman Dawson Davis (26 carries, 120 yards) carried nine times converting on each of the third down plays. His one-yard run came with 4:02 left in the half and Moore’s PAT gave Cook a 10-7 lead.
After forcing a PCHS punt with a three-andout, the Hornets took advantage of a second short field getting a second Moore field goal from 34 yards away for a 13-7 lead just 39 seconds before intermission.
The big play was quarterback Jayden Joiner (seven carries, 49 yards) scrambling for a 32-yard gain down to the Bears’ 19. Three plays followed netting two yards forcing the field goal attempt.
PCHS then stormed down the field going 80 yards in four plays aided by a Hornet 15-yard penalty. The penalty, which came at the end of the second play, moved the Bears into Cook territory.
Following an incompletion, Jae’Veon Williams (18 carries, 192 yards) darted through a hole at left guard, cut towards the Hornets’ bench and sped down the sideline for a 46yard scoring play with :04 on the clock. The PAT was foiled by a high snap leaving the scored tied at 13apiece.
The touchdown started a stretch of four consecutive scoring drives for Pierce County covering 80, 80, 27 and 92 yards. The Bears first three scores game in a span of 3:03 turning a six-point deficit into a 14-point advantage.
PCHS opened the second half with a five-play, 80-yard possession ending with a 32-yard scoring toss from Dowling to Nigel Brown (three catches, 51 yards) with 10:24 showing on the third quarter clock. Stevenson’s PAT gave the Bears the lead for good at 20-13.
Dowling (17 carries, 143 yards) went for 28 yards with the first snap of the half to kick start the possession. He finished with 119 yards over the final two periods joining Williams in the 100-plus yard rushing department for the third time in a game this season.
Two plays after the kickoff, safety Chance Williams stripped the Hornets’ Davis of the ball setting PCHS up at the Cook 27.
Jae’Veon Williams, who has put together five consecutive 100-yard rushing games and six consecutive multi-touchdowns games, punched in his second score of the night with runs of 13 and the final 14 yards on consecutive snaps. Stevenson split the uprights for a 27-13 lead with 9:01 remaining in the third stanza.
The Bears’ defense then forced a three-and-out with the offense taking control after Moore boomed a 53-yard punt pinning PCHS at its own four.
An incomplete first down pass was followed by 13 consecutive running plays (interrupted by a penalty) between Jae’Veon Williams (47 yards) and Dowling (55 yards). Dowling found Chance Williams for the four-yard score on fourthand- goal sealing the vic-tory. Stevenson kicked the margin to 34-13 with 10:25 to play.
Each team turned the ball over with interceptions on the next two possessions. Kendric Benson undercut a Cook pass attempt with Cook’s Edward Wright returning the favor with five minutes remaining.
The Hornets’ final possession ended with PCHS getting a fourth down stop of Joiner on a scramble.
Dowling was able to run out the final 2:19 gaining 32 yards on three runs picking up two first downs with Cook out of timeouts. YARDSTIICK
Pierce County 0 13 14 7 - 34 Cook 3 10 0 0 - 13 SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter CHS - Brooks Moore 29 field goal, 3:03
Second Quarter PCHS - Marquez Leggett 25 pass from Drake Dowling (Garrett Stevenson kick), 11:05 CHS - Dawson Davis 1 run (Moore kick), 4:02 CHS - Moore 34 field goal, :39 PCHS - Jae’Veon Williams 46 run (kick failed), :04 Third Quarter PCHS - Nigel Brown 32 pass from Dowling (Stevenson kick), 10:24 PCHS - J. Williams 14 run (Stevenson kick), 9:01 Fourth Quarter PCHS - Chance Williams 4 pass from Dowling (Stevenson kick), 10:25 PCHS CHS First downs 21 13 Rushes-yards 39-309 25-170 Passing yards 88 66 Total yards 397 236 Comp-Att-Int 6-9-1 10-21-1 Punts-Avg 1-32.0 2-42.5 Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0 Penalties 10-82 9-80 3rd Down Con. 2-of-5 4-of-12 4th Down Con. 2-of-2 1-of-3 Time of Poss. 24:07 23:53 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – PCHS: J. Williams 18192, Dowling 17-143, Johnson 1(-6), team 3-(-20). CHS: Davis 26-120, Joiner 7-48, Miller 2-2.
PASSING – PCHS: Dowling 6-9-1 88. CHS: Joiner 10-21-1 66. RECEIVING — PCHS: Brown 3-51, Leggett 1-25, Stevenson 1-8, C. Williams 1-4. CHS: Tippins 3-27, Scott 2-14, King 2-7, Wright 2-7, Davis 1-11.
