Past Meets Present

Past Meets Present

By: CJ Harvey

September 16, 2012

 

 

                The Friday night started cool and turned cold very quickly for the Princeton Tigers as they visited Laidley Field in a showdown with the hot Capital Cougars. The crisp, smooth air made almost a perfect opening to a night that brought both past and present together. This football game was not just for bragging rights or trying to keep the perfect record, this game was to respect and to commemorate the former head Capital coach, and now late, Jack Woolwine, and Capital did just that.

                Last we saw the Cougars, they were leaving St. Albans after destroying the Red Dragons 61 to 34, but Friday was a different story because this would be the first time the team was playing home this season. In the inaugural “Jack D. Woolwine Jr. Memorial Football Game”, which is now going to be the title of the first home game for Capital each season, the Cougars were trying to do something they haven’t done in a very long time. The red hot Cougars were attempting to become the last unbeaten team in the Kanawha Valley. Almost everyone would agree that the Tigers had no chance in a game that featured Kennedy award nominee Tyhree Pratt and star receiver Kashaun Haley. It was only a matter of time before Capital attacked, but ironically it was not the offense that scored first. In only 71 seconds the Cougars had already scored nine points, without Pratt or Haley touching the ball. After going three and out on Princeton’s first offensive drive, a bad snap left the punter kicking the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety, and on a botched Princeton kickoff seconds later, Rashaad Cunningham took the ball 38 yards for a Special Teams score. As always Coach Carpenter never looked back his team scored 35 total points in the first half. Princeton left town with only 113 total yards of offense, which is a defensive best for Capital this season, and for the third straight game Capital had another 400+ yard game with 237 of those yards on the ground. A proud Coach Carpenter’s Capita football team left the game winning 49 to 7.

                Each game has seen the offense firing on all cylinders but this game was not about how many yards Capital could get, but how many yards could they limit Princeton to. The Tigers held the ball for close to 30 minutes of possession, but that did not stop the stout defense who had five tackles for loss, a sack from James Walton, and 44 ½ total tackles. Princeton only converted 45% of the time on third downs, and did not convert once on fourth down. Jonathon Pittman had six solo tackles, while both Isaiah Carvens and Khalil Bush each had 4 solo tackles. Princeton averaged only 1.7 yards per rush, and 2.4 gain per play. Offensively Pratt had another good game passing with 126 yards, while still rushing for 42 yards. KaShaun Haley ran for 124 yards, and Cliff Pratt caught three balls for 63 from his brother, two of which were for touchdowns.

                Next week the Cougars take on South Charleston High School at Oaks field.  The last time these two met at Oaks Field, Capital ended South Charleston’s undefeated season winning 8 to 7 in a muddy game

Cougars Overstay Visit...Again

Cougars Overstay Visit...Again

By: CJ Harvey

September 2, 2012

     After a previous visit down to the southern tip of West Virginia to handily beat the Spartans of Greenbrier East, the Capital High Cougars received a lot of attention throughout the state. Not only did the emergence of Freshman Quarterback Tyhree Pratt shock the world, but the combination of a fast paced offense and extremely stout defense, is what struck fear into the hearts of many. Even the Daily Mail, who generally does not favor Capital High School in sports, gave the Cougar Gang the ranking of seventh best team in the state. So with everything beginning to go the old Blue and Gray’s way, could the team travel to St. Albans and beat the Red Dragons, who had 403 yards of offense last week in a loss to Riverside?

                

     It did not take long to turn things from good to horrible for Capital. On the first play from scrimmage James Richmond is taken out of the game from what looked to be an ankle injury; Richmond had injured his ankle earlier this week in practice. Capital ended that drive on a three and out. But before Capital could even think about what was wrong with their running back, Devon Tyson intercepts the ball from St. Albans Quarterback Taylor Clark, giving life to the slow starting Cougars. Pratt took the ball and one play later hit Kashaun Haley on a 53 yard pass, off a play action roll out. Like last week, using this momentum, Coach Carpenter’s team did not look back for one minute.  Tyrell Davis would step in for Richmond and did just fine doing so; Davis, on Capital’s next drive, scored the team’s first rushing touchdown of the night. He also finished the game with 53 rushing yards. To open the second quarter, like a flash in the night sky, Devon Tyson picks off his second pass from Taylor Clark, but takes this one all the way home for 6. St. Albans coming into the game supposedly had the better offensive line, which was proven false very quickly. The Cougar defensive line was too strong and too fast Capital would go on to win the game West Virginia style 61 to 34.

     With a large margin lead over the Red Dragon during most of the game, the team got to see some young talent step up and get to play, including running back Logan Priddy, receiver Rashaad Cunningham and tight end Khalil Bush all made nice plays. Bush had a beautiful double move, streak down the field to catch the longest pass of the game for a 63 yard touchdown. Logan Garrison is still perfect on extra pints going 12 for 12 on the season. Pratt finished the night with 230 yards in the air, totaling him at 449 total passing yards on the season, with 0 interceptions. Pratt also had a nice touchdown run, while totaling for 65 yards on the ground as well.

                

        The man of the night was definitely wide receiver Kashaun Haley. Haley had 4 touchdowns, 2 receiving and 2 on kick returns, and had over 300 total yards, including receiving, rushing, and kick return yards. I cannot help but watch him run around the field seemingly untouched and not keep telling those sitting around me how much he reminded me of Percy Harvin. Harvin has one of the fastest 40 yard dash times in NFL history, but that doesn’t define him as a player. What defines Harvin as a player is the fact he can do anything and everything, and he is really good at them all. Haley leads the team with receptions, receiving yards, kick return yards, touchdowns, all the while being the fourth leading rusher on the team. He does it all for the team and is why he is invaluable to the success of this year’s squad.

                 

       Capital is off next week, but do not fear I will return with more story lines heading into the September 14, home game against Princeton. 

Cougar Gang Strikes First

Cougar Gang Strikes First

By: CJ Harvey

08/25/2012

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     More than 20 days ago the Capital High School football team took the practice field with many questions; will James Richmond come back more aggressive after last season’s rough ending? Can the team move past losing Class AAA all state members, Julian Baker, Mark Latta, and R.J. Symms? But probably the biggest question for Coach Jon Carpenter’s Cougars this season was who is going to start at the quarterback position? Now, one game into the 2012 season, a few more questions have arisen, but thankfully, one question has been answered.

     ​Last night our home town Capital High School Cougars took a long trip down south the visit the rising Greenbrier East Spartans, with worries on their backs as starting quarterback Carrington Morris was not on the bus making the trip. Freshman Tyhree Pratt would be taking the reins for a team, loaded with speed, waiting to get on the field for the first game of the season. Pratt, an amazing athlete, was not even notified that he would be starting Friday night, until Thursday afternoon at school. The night looked like it might be a long one after Greenbrier East scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 73 yard bomb from quarterback Isaiah Kinder to Cole McClain. Although the nerves of the entire team were going crazy, critics would soon be silenced as Pratt scored on the team’s first drive on a 3 yard quarterback sneak. Minutes later he drove the team down the field again and hit Devon Tyson on a 10 yard pass for another touchdown to go up 14 to 7. Both TDs were in the first quarter. Before the end of the first quarter the Spartans' Tre Morris would rush for a 3 yard touchdown and tie the game 14 to 14. Right out of the gates on the second quarter James Richmond hit a nice hole in the red zone to score an 18 yard touchdown and take back the lead 21 to 14. After that, neither Richmond nor Pratt would look back. The cougars would score 28 straight points to lead the team to a 42 – 21 win over the Spartans.

     

     Although James Richmond had the longest rush of the day, with a 61 yard run for a touchdown and finished with 148 total rushing yards, Pratt was the shining star of the night. Pratt completed 10 of 16 passes for 219 yards in the air, and had 0 interceptions. Apparently no one told Pratt that freshmen are not supposed to tear defenses to shreds. Other major stats included Devon Tyson with 2 catches for 51 yards; Kashaun Haley had 2 rushes for 45 yards; and older brother of Tyhree Pratt, Cliff Pratt, had 1 catch from his brother for 36 yards. For the night Capital ended with 499 total yards, with 0 turnovers. I don’t think anyone would disagree that this is a great start to the season.

     Seeing this game was something special. After the first quarter everything on both sides of the ball clicked. Obviously Pratt looked nice, but seeing Richmond run like a gazelle again was beautiful. I was a bit offset that Capital had more penalties against them than I could count. If the team can keep their cool, and use this momentum to carry them onward, this year could be a big one. 

     

     Capital gears up for a rough stretch in their next 4 games of the season having 3 of them away. They visit St. Albans, who lost to Riverside 44 – 27. The Cougars return home to play Princeton, who lost to Beckley 31- 14. Then Capital will go on the road against South Charleston, who lost a tough game to George Washington a night ago, and finally travel to Hurricane who recently beat Winfield 44 – 7.

Check back next Saturday for updates and news regarding Capital High Football after the St. Albans game. GO COUGARS!