Cougars roll past SouthLake
Oct 12
Brett Deresienski | Special to the Enterprise
HIGH POINT – Less than 24 hours after Tropical Storm Michael knocked out power for the entire city of High Point, High Point Christian lit up the scoreboard en route to a 42-14 victory against the SouthLake Christian in NCISAA Piedmont Athletic Conference football Friday night at the High Point Athletic Complex.
HPCA (6-2 overall, 2-1 PAC) came in with two straight losses, including a stunning 23-20 OT defeat at the hands of Cannon last Friday. So, it knew this game against conference rival SouthLake (4-4, 1-1) would be of utmost importance with the season winding down.
Things went well for the Cougars right out of the gate. Despite a holding penalty on their first play of the game, they converted on third down in the form of a 67-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver LaBrent Crews to take the early 6-0 lead with 7:37 remaining in the first quarter.
After the Eagles took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter thanks to a wide receiver Cole Cameli 7-yard TD reception, HPCA responded with a 20 yard TD reception from wide receiver Brycen Thomas with 9:11 in the second quarter to put them ahead for good.
Thomas played a vital part of the offense on the evening, scoring two of the Cougars’ six touchdowns – the second one for 50 yards that made it a 22-7 game with 6:04 to play in the third quarter.
“I saw the ball in the air and was just like ‘I gotta catch it,’’’ said Thomas about his second TD reception of the night. “I have to give credit to my teammates for blocking and just trusting me to make those plays.”
Tight end Malik Puryear and quarterback/receiver Luke Homol added 9- and 90-yard TD receptions of their own, respectively, in the third quarter as the Cougars got three TDs from three different players in a span of six minutes and six TDs from four different players in the game.
Quarterback/receiver John Saunders Jr had another spectacular game as the centerpiece of the offense, passing for five TDs without an interception and sealing the victory with a 45-yard TD reception of his own from Homol with 9:56 to play in the fourth quarter.
When it was all said and done, the Cougars rolled to their fourth home victory of the season and third straight victory over the Eagles, whom they have not lost to since Sept. 13, 2013.
“Definitely a big win for us,” said HPCA head coach Scott Bell on overcoming two tough losses. “We knew coming into this game that it was about time for us to turn things around. We took what they gave us, we had a good day passing, but we still got a lot of work to do if we want to make a run in the playoffs.”
Up next for the Cougars is their final regular-season home game versus Carolina Christian on Friday at 7 p.m. for homecoming.
Oct 12
Brett Deresienski | Special to the Enterprise
HIGH POINT – Less than 24 hours after Tropical Storm Michael knocked out power for the entire city of High Point, High Point Christian lit up the scoreboard en route to a 42-14 victory against the SouthLake Christian in NCISAA Piedmont Athletic Conference football Friday night at the High Point Athletic Complex.
HPCA (6-2 overall, 2-1 PAC) came in with two straight losses, including a stunning 23-20 OT defeat at the hands of Cannon last Friday. So, it knew this game against conference rival SouthLake (4-4, 1-1) would be of utmost importance with the season winding down.
Things went well for the Cougars right out of the gate. Despite a holding penalty on their first play of the game, they converted on third down in the form of a 67-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver LaBrent Crews to take the early 6-0 lead with 7:37 remaining in the first quarter.
After the Eagles took a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter thanks to a wide receiver Cole Cameli 7-yard TD reception, HPCA responded with a 20 yard TD reception from wide receiver Brycen Thomas with 9:11 in the second quarter to put them ahead for good.
Thomas played a vital part of the offense on the evening, scoring two of the Cougars’ six touchdowns – the second one for 50 yards that made it a 22-7 game with 6:04 to play in the third quarter.
“I saw the ball in the air and was just like ‘I gotta catch it,’’’ said Thomas about his second TD reception of the night. “I have to give credit to my teammates for blocking and just trusting me to make those plays.”
Tight end Malik Puryear and quarterback/receiver Luke Homol added 9- and 90-yard TD receptions of their own, respectively, in the third quarter as the Cougars got three TDs from three different players in a span of six minutes and six TDs from four different players in the game.
Quarterback/receiver John Saunders Jr had another spectacular game as the centerpiece of the offense, passing for five TDs without an interception and sealing the victory with a 45-yard TD reception of his own from Homol with 9:56 to play in the fourth quarter.
When it was all said and done, the Cougars rolled to their fourth home victory of the season and third straight victory over the Eagles, whom they have not lost to since Sept. 13, 2013.
“Definitely a big win for us,” said HPCA head coach Scott Bell on overcoming two tough losses. “We knew coming into this game that it was about time for us to turn things around. We took what they gave us, we had a good day passing, but we still got a lot of work to do if we want to make a run in the playoffs.”
Up next for the Cougars is their final regular-season home game versus Carolina Christian on Friday at 7 p.m. for homecoming.
