JV Cougars defeat Freedom, improve to 6-0
ACHS rallies from two points down at halftime

Daniel Morgan clears traffic on his way to a good gain versus Freedom on October 5 in Taylorsville.
By D.N. PENNELL, Jr.
The Alexander Central JV Cougar Football Team rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to defeat the Freedom Patriots 28-16 on Thursday, October 5, at Cougar Stadium in Taylorsville.
With the win, the young Cougars improved to 3-0 in NW 3A/4A games and 6-0 overall this season.
Each team scored a touchdown and two-point conversion in the first period. After Freedom opened the scoring, the Cougars tied the game when Easton Rhoney completed a scoring pass to Will Elder for 26 yards.
The Patriots scored one play into the second period to take a 16-8 lead.
For the remainder of the contest, the home team took control. A 10-yard scoring run by Rhoney pulled with Cougars with a pair of points at the half at 16-14.

Freshman back Lance Justin runs for positive yardage against the Freedom Patriots.
The Cougars scored all the game’s points in the second half on a pair of TD runs from freshman Dayente Calhoun. A two-yard Calhoun run with seven minutes to play gave the Cougars their first lead of the night at 20-16.
Calhoun’s 15-yard scoring jaunt late in the fourth sealed the win, upping Alexander’s JV win streak to 19 games. Calhoun led Alexander’s modest offensive effort with 76 rushing yards on 16 carries. Daniel Morgan finished with 57 yards on 11 carries. Easton Rhoney completed two passes for 26 yards and ran for 21 yards.
On defense, Jai Kwaun Tilley led Alexander with six total tackles, while Zach Wooten added five total stops. Ethan Robinette led ACHS with 2.5 tackles for loss, while Kris Payne added a fumble recovery.
The Cougars will hit the road for a trip to Marion on Thursday, October 12, where they will face McDowell High School in a 6:30 pm contest.

Kris Payne (7) attempts to track down the Freedom quarterback Thursday night.