Cothern
explodes, leads Rebels to homecoming win
Southern
Sports & Travel
Tailback
Ryan Cothern exploded with his second straight 300+ rushing yards performance in
leading third ranked Tri-County Academy to a 49-20 spanking of Class A fourth
ranked Benton before a jam packed stadium on homecoming night in Flora.
Cothern
totaled 311 yards on 24 carries and scored 4 touchdowns on Friday night as
Tri-County improved to 8-1 with one game remaining before post season plays
begins.
Cothern,
who was named the Southern Sports & Travel Co-Player of the Week for last
week’s 321 yards and 5 touchdowns performance in a win over Winston, displayed
why he is one of the premier backs in the MAIS as the junior used power, speed
and elusiveness in dominating a solid Benton defense.
Tri-County
pounded out a 10 play, 64 yard scoring drive in setting the tone on the Rebel’s
first possession of the night.
Quarterback
Trey Bozeman capped the drive as the senior signal-caller darted 22 yards off
the left side to put Tri-County on top after having chewed up over five minutes
off the clock.
Tucker
Millican’s PAT gave TCA a 7-0 edge with 6:54 remaining in the opening quarter
of play.
Tri-County
added to the lead on their first possession of the second quarter.
Facing
a 2nd and 28 from their own 45 yard line Ryan Cothern electrified
the home crowd with a tackle-breaking 55 yard score that left the Benton
defense scratching their heads with 6:06 left in the half.
Millican
added the PAT as the Rebel’s doubled their advantage to 14-0.
Disaster
struck Benton on the ensuing possession when Tri-County linebacker Baylor
Travis recovered a Kent Manor fumble at the Raider 34 yard line.
Tucker
Millican nailed the PAT to give the Rebel’s a 21-0 cushion.
With
not much to show in the first half the Benton offense went to work with
quarterback Ben Street providing a much needed spark.
Street
engineered a 58 yard drive that culminated on tailback Kent Manor’s 3 yard
plunge with 32 seconds remaining in the half.
Austin
White hit the PAT as Benton grabbed a dose of much needed momentum as the first
half of play looked to be in the bag with Tri-County maintaining a 21-7 lead
but the remaining 32 seconds would be just enough for TCA to put a damper on
Benton’s momentum grab.
Ryan
Cothern baffled the Benton defense with a 34 yard, 1st down burst to
the Raider 26 yard line and two plays later Trey Bozeman lofted a perfectly
tossed pass to wide-out Baylor Travis in the corner of the endzone as time
expired in the first half.
Tucker
Millican added his fourth PAT of the half and Tri-County would take a 28-7 lead
into intermission.
Benton’s
attempt to get back into the contest would end quickly to start the second
half.
On
the Raider’s third play from scrimmage Tri-County cornerback Tyler Sullivan
picked off a Ben Street pass at the Raider 45 yard line.
Seven
plays later Ryan Cothern notched his third touchdown of the night, this one
from 5 yards out as Tri-County pushed out to a 35-7 advantage with 7:30 left in
the third quarter.
Cothern erupted with a 72 yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Cothern erupted with a 72 yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Both
squads played reserves throughout the fourth quarter as Tri-County earned a
49-20 win.
Trey
Bozeman finished the night with 57 rushing yards and went 4/9 for 45 yards and
a touchdown and freshman Swazy Bozeman rushed for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Benton
tailback Kent Manor totaled 102 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns and had an 85
yard kick-off return for a score.
Tri-County’s
win was its’ 8th straight over Benton.
The
Rebel’s cap off the regular season next week when they take on Manchester in a
District 2-AA matchup while Benton (7-2) hosts district foe and seventh ranked
Newton..
Post Game with Tri-County Head Coach David Blount
