John Michaels
IVN Contributing Writer
(Courtesy photo by Sandra Dugas for the Illinois Valley News)
The Illinois Valley High School Cougars hosted the defending 2A state champion Lowell Devils last Friday and dropped a very close 61-54 decision in a non-league match-up Friday in Cave Junction.
In a game that saw an amazing 15 lead changes, the Cougars might be wishing that the quarters in high school football were just a little bit shorter, as Lowell scored with less than a minute remaining in three of the four quarters, including the game winner with just 49 seconds remaining.
IVHS (1-1) looked like it might pull of the upset when Zack Dugas connected on a 35-yard scoring strike to Jacob Hinds with 1:48 left in the game. The following successful two-point conversion gave the Cougars a 54-53 lead late in the game.
The prospects for an upset looked even brighter when the I.V. defense got a couple of stops on the Devils’ ensuing drive, forcing Lowell (1-1) into a 4th-and-13 situation. But the Devils’ all-everything running back JaMar Thurman caught a screen pass and turned it into a long run down to the Cougar 15. A play later Thurman took a speed pitch and ran it into the endzone for the winning score. The Lowell quarterback, Carter Harris, ran in the two-point conversion to give the Devils the final 61-54 edge.
Harris started the scoring with a 10-yard run in the opening quarter. A traditional kicked PAT gave Lowell a 7-0 lead.
The Cougars answered and took the lead when Dugas led a drive down the field, covering the last 11 yards by himself on a QB draw play. Dugas then connected with Brantly Arroyo on a two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.
The two teams traded scores throughout the rest of the game with neither team pulling more than a touchdown ahead throughout the game. The Devils answered the Dugas run a 16-yard scoring screen pass to Thurman. The conversion failed and Lowell led 13-8.
A 57-yard touchdown scamper by Tanner Brazil, with a Dugas-to-Preston Arroyon conversion put I.V. up 16-13, only to have Lowell score on a fullback trap play with 38 seconds left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion was run in, giving the Devils a 21-16 lead.
After both teams marched up and down the field in the opening period, defenses took over in the second, as neither team scored in the period until Brazil carried it in from one yard out with 5:27 left in the half. Dugas ran in the conversion and the Cougars led 24-21.
Lowell answered with a long drive, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run with just 29 seconds left in the half. With another two-point PAT run, the Devils went into the intermission leading 29-24.
I.V. grabbed a short-lived lead with 6:54 left in the third period when Dugas hit Jeremiah Izzo in the end zone for a 37-yard scoring strike. Dugas ran in the conversion to give the Cougars a 32-29 lead, but Lowell returned the ensuing kick-off 68 yards for a score and after the two-point run, the Devils led 37-32.
Three more quick alternating scores closed out the third stanza as Brazil scored for I.V. on a 3-yard run with 2:52 left in the period. A failed conversion gave the Cougars a 38-37 lead, but Lowell answered just 26 seconds later when Thurman went 36 yards on a sweep. The PAT was good and the Devils held the biggest lead of the evening at 45-38.
The third quarter ended with I.V. leading, after Dugas connected with Preston Arroyo on a 65-yard bomb, to cut the gap to one. Dugas looked to pass on the ensuing PAT, but with no one open, Dugas scrambled until he saw an opening and carried it in himself, giving the Cougars a 46-45 lead.
A 4-yard Thurman run midway through the final quarter gave Lowell a 53-46 lead prior to the final two-minute exchange of touchdowns reported earlier.
IVHS looks to get back on track when the Cougars travel to Colton Friday to take on the Vikings. Kick-off time is scheduled for an early 6 p.m. start.