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COUDERSPORT SLIPS PAST CAMERON CO. |
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AUG. 29, 2003 - Coudersport 7, Cameron County 6 |
| By Pat Lewis
EMPORIUM – On Friday night the Cameron County Red Raiders faced the Coudersport Falcons in the opening game of the 2003 football season. Coudersport prevailed by the slimmest of margins 7-6 on the Red Raider home field. On paper, the Red Raiders won every statistical category. But as the saying goes, the game is not played on paper. The Raiders outgained the Falcons 163 yards to 70 yards on the ground and 167 yards to 77 yards through the air. They completed 13 passes compared to Coudy’s four completions. But unfortunately for the Red Raiders, they also had the most penalties, 12 for 104 yards to Coudersport’s 2 for 20 yards. This final statistic spelled doom for the Cameron team. "Tonight we played a well coached and very disciplined football team," Cameron County second-year head coach Brian Lovett said. "We did not show the same discipline and that came back and hurt us. It is my job as head coach to instill discipline, and we will address that issue in practice this week." On Cameron’s first possession the offense was clicking on all cylinders. Starting at its own 26-yard line running backs Adam Kesterholt and Keith Horning moved the ball to midfield. A penalty on the Raiders returned the ball back to the 32-yard line. Quarterback Kyle Vogt hit wide receiver John Clark on a down and out for a 35-yard pickup to the Coudersport 33-yard line. Kesterholt pounded out a 12-yard gain to the 21-yard line on the next play. Kesterholt, the games leading rusher with 81 yards on 19 carries, received the call again and zig zagged his way into the end zone from 21 yards out. The kick failed, but the Raiders had the early lead 6-0. Later in the first quarter, Vogt went to the air again connecting on four out of five passes to receivers Nathan Fuenffinger, Shaun Carlson and Jordan Brown. With the ball on the 38-yard line, Coudersport defensive back Mike Kehr picked off his first of two interceptions on the game and returned it to the 42-yard line. With a drive start near midfield, Falcon quarterback Scott Easton took control. He hit two out of three passes for a total of 31 yards and rushed for 17 yards to get the ball to the Raider 10-yard line. From there tailback Ross Simcoe took over on three carries to finally bull in from one yard out with 5:29 left in the first half. The kick by Rich Keagle split the uprights and proved to be the difference in the game giving the Falcons the 7-6 advantage. Although this was the final score in the game, the Falcons had a few anxious minutes at the end of the game. With the ball in Coudy’s possession and the clock on their side, Raider defensive back Kyle Vogt picked off a pass at the 27-yard line. With 73 yards to go, the Raiders put together a 17 play drive with Vogt going six for six on pass attempts to Shaun Carlson (three), Brown, Fuenffinger, and Horning. Twenty seven seconds remained on the clock and the Raiders faced a fourth-and-long at the 21-yard line.
Coudersport’s Mike Kehr picked off his second pass of the evening in the end zone to thwart the drive and seal
the victory for the Falcons. COUDERSPORT 7, CAMERON COUNTY 6 Coudersport 0 7 0 0 – 7 Scoring CC Coudersport |
