Cougars on a roll, defeat the Raiders
By Mary Hefta
It was another gorgeous night for high school football as the Central McLean Cougars hosted the Richardton-Taylor-Hebron Raiders in Turtle Lake last Friday night. The Cougars received the ball after the opening kick off but were unable to score on their first series. The Raiders, however, were able to score on their opening drive with a 70-yard touchdown run. The Raiders had their only lead of the night, 6-0, in the first seven minutes of the game. During the next series for the Cougars, senior back Grant Singer was able to steadily move the ball and scored at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter. Singer would also run in the PAT and the Cougars were up 8-6. It took a few more plays for the Cougar defense to stop the Raiders, but after two huge tackles by seniors Trevor Thomas and Ryan Rauhauser, the Cougars got the ball back, but had to start on their own three-yard line. The Cougars moved the ball well in the second quarter with a combination of Singer runs, and senior quarterback Jordan Sundquist’s pass completions. Sundquist’s first big pass play connected with senior receiver Ben Duben for a 40-yard completion. The Cougars found themselves in a fourth and 12 situation, yet Sundquist was able to find senior Mick Finneman for a first down pass reception. Finneman ran for the next Cougar touch down and Central McLean was ahead of the Raiders 14-6. In a strange turn of events, the Cougars’ kicker, Rauhauser, bumped the ball less than 10 yards and the Cougars were able to recover the ball, as no RTH Raider touched the football. The inadvertent on-side kick recovery at the 7:51 mark of the first half gave the Cougars another shot on offense.
