Cats close but no win against Mnt. Heritage
By Randy Glass Sports Writer

Friday night's Andrews/Mountain Heritage football game was a battle of two teams looking to complete a goal.

The Cougars had lost 17 games in a row and the Wildcats had lost 10 consecutive games. After the hard fought battle, the Cougars prevailed 20-7.

The Cats' defense looked in proud form and were a couple of plays away from a win. Rance Rogers again played well on the defensive side as well as Robert Hill, who had several tackles in the backfield. Waylon Curtis also had several tackles as well as Ryan Christy. On the offensive side, Chris Ackerman had three catches, one for a touchdown and Tyler Edwards had a scoring toss. Also, senior Brody White had a 35-yard average on punts.

The Cats started off with the ball but could not advance and punted the ball to the Courgars. Mountain Heritage mounted a 75-yard drive culminating with a 20-yard run down the sideline for a score and a 6-0 lead.

The Cats got the ball on the 37 after a good return from Devin Miller. Ackerman had three catches on the drive, starting with a 12 yarder for a first down. Matt Esposito had a 12-yard carry and with the help of fullback Robert "Howie" Hill, got the Cats inside the 10. Edwards carried the ball for four yards. Then, a penalty put the ball on the 19. The first quarter ended with the score 6-0.

Ackerman caught the ball on the goal line for a 19-yard score to put the Cats up 7-6 after a successful extra point by Ackerman.

Later in the quarter, the Cougars got the ball inside the Cat 40-yardline. On fourth down, the Cougars found Casey Randolph open and he scampered for a 35-yard catch for a score with 22 seconds left in the half. After a two-point conversion, the half ended with Mountain Heritage leading 14-7.

In the second half, the Cougars had the ball at the Wildcat 35. But sophomore Nikko Williams got the first of two interceptions and gave the Cats the ball back on their 19. Esposito carried for 12 yards but again the Cats had to punt.

The Cougars seemed poised to score but Williams intercepted the ball and returned it almost 30 yards to set the Cats up inside the 30 as the fourth quarter started. The Cats could not convert and the Cougars mounted a 76-yard drive to go up 20-7.

The Cats played a better game defensively as Mountain Heritage has a school of over 1,000 students.

Coach Ron Dupree and staff felt this game was definitely winnable for the Cats.

The Cats will get starting tailback Stephen Crisp back in two weeks, which will be a plus. Andrews takes on powerhouse Tennessee Temple next week at Andrews. Temple finished 13-1 and was one game away from the state last year. On September 7, Allegahny comes calling at Andrews. Come out and root for your Cats at 7:30 p.m.