Crisp County overwhelms Rutland, remains unbeaten

Crisp County’s speed and abilities turned out to be way too much for Rutland to handle on Thursday night at the Ed DeFore Sports Complex.

The visiting Cougars got off a dominant start on both sides of the ball in a 49-14 victory over the Hurricanes, taking a 20-0 lead after a quarter and 35-0 edge to end a first half in which Rutland mounted just a single first down.

Rutland (1-3) finished the night strong in the face of adversity, getting on the board on a 12-yard run by Landon Miller and K’vian Fuller scoring from 19 yards away.

Those scores came after Crisp County (4-0) had blown the game open, taking a 7-0 lead when D.J. Smith took a pitch 90 yards for a touchdown on the Cougars’ first offensive play from scrimmage.

After Rutland was held to its second three-and-out to begin the game, a 57-yard punt return by Brandon Dowdell set the Cougars up inside the 10. Jammie Robinson took it in from a yard away three plays later, and the Hurricanes were down 14-0.

A 45-yard touchdown from Crisp quarterback Patrick Felton to JaQuavian Walker was good for 20-0 lead, and the Cougars pulled away from there as they swarmed Rutland’s offense, clamping down against the run and disrupting chances of a passing game. The Cougars amassed 452 yards of offense.

Four who mattered

Smith: His 90-yard run on the Cougars’ first offensive play from scrimmage gave the visitors from Cordele an quick 7-0 lead setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Dowdell: Punt return keep the pressure on Rutland, enabling the Cougars to continue the early momentum and carry it forward.

Miller: The wingback gave the Hurricanes something to build on as they kept fighting, even in the face of adversity. His 12-yard run got Rutland into the end zone for its first score of the game late in the third quarter. He led the Hurricanes on the ground with 67 yards.

Fuller: He continued Rutland’s late-game surge by getting into the end zone from 19 yards out.

Observations

Numbers game: Rutland didn’t just have to contend with Crisp County’s speed and athleticism on Thursday. The Cougars dressed out approximately twice as many players as the Hurricanes, giving them a depth advantage.

Worth mentioning

Toughening up: Losing by 35 points at halftime, the Hurricanes would have been excused for going through the motions in the second half. They didn’t. Rutland put a pair of touchdowns on the board and also prevented big plays from the Cougars’ offense, forcing them to put forth a concerted effort to drive for touchdowns.

They said it

Rutland head coach Mark Daniel on going up against Crisp County: “There’s no way to prepare our kids for that speed they have, that’s a big difference from what they’ve been seeing. So right off the bat, it set us back a little bit. After we got over the shock on it, we settled in a little bit and made some plays. We just couldn’t get much going offensively with their size and strength. We are at a deficit in all athletic characteristics.”

Daniel on the Hurricanes’ overall effort: “I’m proud the guys didn’t lay down and quit. They kept going to try out there and strike for one. They made a few things happen.”

Crisp County head coach Shelton Felton on the Cougars’ fast start: “That’s what we talked about all week. We wanted to jump out early. We didn’t want to give them any false hope of confidence that they could be in the same game with us. No disrespect to them, but we think we’re more of an elite program, and that’s what we preached all week.”

What’s next?

Crisp County plays next Friday at Spencer. Rutland opens region play the same night at Jackson.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Crisp County overwhelms Rutland, remains unbeaten."