Cougars drop homecoming game

School spirit was high Oct. 14 as the IVHS Cougars prepared for their homecoming game against the Gold Beach Panthers. Though their energy was palpable and they fought hard, by the end of the match, the opposition’s line of defense was simply too strong for the home team to emerge victorious.
Things were looking good for the Cougars in the first quarter. Although their kickoff was recovered the defense held, and senior Jahsiah Demuth was able to score the first touchdown of the night, with sophomore Justin Parker subsequently scoring an additional point. While the ball did eventually make it back into Cougar territory, leading the Panthers to a touchdown of their own, the opposing team missed their opportunity for an additional point, and after the Cougars scored toward the end of the round the home team was leading 14-6.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Panthers’ seemed to rally and evened the score after another touchdown and a successful two-point conversion. They were not tied for long, however, as the Cougars bounced back and brought the ball back onto the Panthers side of the field with a touchdown and successful conversion of their own. This back-and-forth continued, and it seemed as though for every time the home team scored, the opposition responded in kind and succeeded in their conversion attempts. By halftime, the Panthers were leading by one point, 30-29.
The energy was palpable when the teams returned to the field after halftime, with senior Ryon Martinho quickly intercepting the ball and earning the Cougars a touchdown. While the conversion attempt was unsuccessful, the home team was still in the lead. Maintaining that lead proved to be incredibly challenging, however, and the Panthers’ score quickly caught up to and surpassed that of the Cougars. It seemed that for every touchdown the home team made, they failed in gaining additional points, something that the Panthers proved to be rather adept at. By the end of the third quarter, Gold Beach carried a five-point lead with a score of 40-35.
This trend continued on into the fourth quarter, and although the Cougars gained a significant amount of yardage they found themselves unable to blast through the Panthers’ defensive line. Every time the Cougars scored, the Panthers fought twice as hard to regain the upper hand and these attempts were successful. With five minutes left, the question at hand was whether the home team could rally and make at least 15 points to even the score. Despite their best efforts, the answer to this question was a resounding ‘no,’ as by the end of the game the Gold Beach Panthers defeated the Cougars 64-41.