Ada versus McAlester. KMA (sorry Coach Go) versus POTAC. The longest running rivalry for the Cougars. Although Ada holds a sizeable advantage in this series, the Buffaloes have had the edge over the past several seasons. This game was billed as being another in that string. The Daily Oklahoman picked the Cougars to be on the short side of a 42 to 24 thrashing. Even most of the local sports pundits were picking the Buffs. But the Cougars would have none of it. Pride and rivalry have a way of making the paper stats irrelevant.
The night started in ominous fashion. After going three and out, the Cougars punted the ball to McAlester at around the 50, giving them only half a field to worry about. The Buffaloes quickly showed their flash, going the distance in 4 plays. The only hiccup was a dropped pass on the third play which could easily have been the scoring play. It looked like the papers were right after all.
The Cougars showed a little life on their next possession. Wyatt Robson completed a 15 yard pass to Nick Anderson and the Ada sideline and fans got into the game. Unfortunately, the drive was cut short a few plays later and Ada punted the ball back, managing only 17 yards on the punt. Then one of the problems which would haunt the Cougars later in the game exposed itself for the first time. A roughing the passer call on one of the young Cougar defenders gave the Buffaloes even better field position. Poise and discipline are key factors in football, and in close games often decide between walking away with a W or an L. The Cougars would learn this the hard way tonight. However, both teams would suffer from the same problem. A couple of plays later, McAlester was flagged for holding, blocking in the back, and ineligible receiver down field all on the same play. The Cougar D then held the Buffaloes on third down, and McAlester returned the favor with an 11 yard punt of their own. Ada began moving the ball downfield when disaster almost struck. The drive was saved when Christian Johnson reached out and snatched what appeared to be a sure interception out of the air right in front of a McAlester defender (or “Mossed him”, ala Randy Moss, as my kids would say). That kept the drive alive. Several plays later Wyatt Robson faked a pitch and a handoff and then followed the lead back through the middle into the end zone for the first Cougar score of the night.
The Cougar momentum seemed to be rolling when Nick Anderson made a great tackle behind the line of scrimmage, leading to what appeared to be a three and out for McAlester. However, showing their confidence, the Buffaloes ran a successful fake punt from inside their own 30 yard line. It looked like momentum might have switched sides again as the Buffs completed a long 25 yard pass, but the receiver bobbled the ball a couple of times during the catch and run and the Cougar D came up with a loose ball at the end of the play. Ada answered the threat with a 36 yard completion of their own from Wyatt Robson to Skylar Alexander. Unfortunately, the drive ended with a missed field goal attempt. McAlester then produced another of their successful drives, taking the ball to the Cougar goal line. The Cougar defense stiffened and ended up taking the ball away on a goal line fumble. The Cougars started pushing the ball out of the shadow of their goal post with safe, conservative runs. Wyatt Robson broke free on a QB keeper (complete with a perfect stiff arm) for a good gain that may have given the Cougars a chance for a score before halftime, but it was moved back by another personal foul call. The half ended with the game tied at 7.
The Ada defense came out on fire to start the 3rd quarter. Payton Patton made a great tackle on a QB keeper by the Buffs, and then Travis Cowan almost pulled off an interception on 3rd down. If at all possible, the game appeared to get even tougher at this point, as both teams were playing with a lot of enthusiasm and determination. At one point Ada seemed to be stopped, when Wyatt Robson completed a tough pass to Ronald Lucas for a 1st down. Ronald took several very hard hits from the McAlester defenders but held tough. The drive seemed to stall again when McAlester handed it back to Ada with a cheap late hit after a strong but short run by Nathan Blakely, giving the Cougars a 1st down when they should have been punting the ball away on 4thand long. Ada quickly took advantage of the gift as Blakely returned the favor with a 35 yard TD gallop. Unfortunately the extra point was no good. The Ada momentum seemed to be unstoppable at this point as McAlester immediately turned the ball back over on their own 16 yard line. The 3rd quarter ended with Ada on the Buffalo goal line. However, the humid night mixed with the high emotion and hard hitting of the game started taking effect. After suffering from what appeared to be cramps, the fiery Ada QB bobbled the snap on 4th and goal and was unable to fight his way into the end zone. The Cougar defense showed their determination, holding McAlester and forcing a punt from deep in their own territory. Disaster again almost struck as the short punt bounced up and hit Christian Johnson, making it a live ball. Christian quickly pounced on the loose ball in a very heads-up play. This led to a bit of trickery from the Ada offense as Chase Bowker tossed a halfback pass to Nick Anderson for a touchdown. With 6:07 left in the game and a 20 to 7 lead, it appeared that Ada was ready to show the experts what Cougar Pride is all about. The Ada defense was all over the McAlester offense, on the verge of literally beating them into submission.
However, just as Ada had been set on fire earlier in the game when the Buffalo players had lost their poise, the Buffs found new life when the young Ada players returned the favor. McAlester scored on a drive in which the Cougars handed them 35 yards in penalty yards, including two consecutive personal foul penalties. McAlester followed this score with a successful onside kick, and momentum was fully behind them. They quickly drove the ball down for a touchdown, and feeling the full power of their momentum, chose to go for 2 and the win rather than tying the game up. Ada had a chance with 1:58 left on the clock and quickly drove the ball down to the McAlester 27 yard line behind the leadership of Wyatt Robson. The miracle was not to be, as Robson was sacked on 3rd down, taking away any chance of a long game-winning field goal. His 4th down pass fell to the ground with 30 seconds left in the game, and McAlester simply took a knee on their final play to end the game.
The Cougar's are next in action at home against U.S. Grant on the 17th. Grant has also started their season off 0-2. So be sure to join us at the field to support the Cougars in making that an 0-3 start for the visiting team.
On another note, the Ada Cougar Basketball teams will be hosting their annual hamburger fry and silent auction on the 17th prior to the game. We will post another post shortly with all the details. Don't miss it!
Click here to view the individual photos
Click here to view a slideshow of the photos
However, just as Ada had been set on fire earlier in the game when the Buffalo players had lost their poise, the Buffs found new life when the young Ada players returned the favor. McAlester scored on a drive in which the Cougars handed them 35 yards in penalty yards, including two consecutive personal foul penalties. McAlester followed this score with a successful onside kick, and momentum was fully behind them. They quickly drove the ball down for a touchdown, and feeling the full power of their momentum, chose to go for 2 and the win rather than tying the game up. Ada had a chance with 1:58 left on the clock and quickly drove the ball down to the McAlester 27 yard line behind the leadership of Wyatt Robson. The miracle was not to be, as Robson was sacked on 3rd down, taking away any chance of a long game-winning field goal. His 4th down pass fell to the ground with 30 seconds left in the game, and McAlester simply took a knee on their final play to end the game.
The Cougar's are next in action at home against U.S. Grant on the 17th. Grant has also started their season off 0-2. So be sure to join us at the field to support the Cougars in making that an 0-3 start for the visiting team.
On another note, the Ada Cougar Basketball teams will be hosting their annual hamburger fry and silent auction on the 17th prior to the game. We will post another post shortly with all the details. Don't miss it!
Click here to view the individual photos
Click here to view a slideshow of the photos
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