©2009 NPT PHOTO BY RUSSELL LAWS

Tensions simply ran afoul Thursday night at
Virgil Ball Stadium as players from both Cosby
and Unaka had it out at midfield late in the game.
Two players from each squad were ejected as a result.

COSBY-Both Cosby (4-6, 3-2) and Unaka (5-5, 4-1) were pumped and so were their fans in a jammed-packed Virgil Ball Stadium Thursday night as a playoff atmosphere surrounded Raymond Large Field. After all, a playoff berth was on the line for one team, and the season would probably end for the other.

Following four quarters of smash-mouth, high-energy football, and a brawl late in the game that emptied both sidelines onto the field, the Rangers got the better of the Eagles, and came away with a 21-8 victory, sending the Rangers into the playoffs as the number two 2A seed out of Region 1A.

"It came down to which team wanted it more tonight," said Cosby head coach Tyler Shelton, "and Unaka wanted it more. My hats off to them. They came in fired up and ready to play tonight and weren't intimidated. Their coaching staff had a great game plan, and they deserved this win."

The Rangers' game plan was evident from the opening kick, and that was to keep the ball away from Cosby's most dangerous weapon, Robert Herzog.

"It was obvious," said coach Shelton. "They didn't want Robert (Herzog) to beat them tonight, so they kept the ball away from him."

Ranger kickoffs and punts were either short-kicked or sidelined away from Herzog, and while the Eagles were on offense, the Ranger defense double and sometimes triple-teamed the junior.

The Eagles won the toss and elected to start on offense. On their first possession, the running game was working with sophomore Nick Koenig pounding out 23 yards. Koenig finished the night with 18 carries for 69 yards. But, when the Eagles needed the passing game, it wasn't there.

"Nick (Koenig) did his job, and our line was blocking well," said coach Shelton. "But we had no balance tonight. We had no passing game. It was non-existent."

The Eagles attempted 23 passes on the night, completed just five for only 25 yards, and gave up two interceptions.

"That was our downfall," said coach Shelton. "Our passing game was improving the last three games, but just disappeared tonight."

The Rangers finished with 243 yards on the night compared to 155 for the Eagles. The Rangers suffered 11 penalties for 86 yards while the Eagles were flagged five times for 35 yards.

The Rangers got on the board first with 4:42 remaining in the first quarter when Ethan Richards found the end zone from seven yards out to finish off a seven-play, 71-yard drive. The attempt at a two-point conversion failed.

The Rangers scored again with 1:11 remaining in the first half on an eight-play, 90-yard drive capped by a Richards' four-yard run. The two-point conversion was successful to make it 14-0 at the break.

The Rangers scored for the final time with 2:37 remaining in the game on a Logan Taylor eight-yard run. Drew Chambers booted the extra point to make it 21-0.

The game was marred by a brawl at mid-field with just over two minutes remaining. Both teams rushed from the sidelines while coaches, officials and eventually security tried to separate the players. In the end, officials ejected two players from each team, and sent starters to the sidelines to finish out the game.

The Eagles averted the shutout when senior Robbie Whitted punched it in from two yards out with three seconds remaining. Freshman quarterback Drew Schreder threw a pass to E.J. Harlin to complete the two-point conversion as the clock expired.

"We turned the ball over tonight," said coach Shelton, "and didn't create the turnovers that we normally get.

"We're really disappointed," said coach Shelton. "This was a heartbreaker. I just hate it for our seniors. We nearly made it a .500 season. If you would have asked me before the start of the season would I take 5-5, I would have. We're so young and had absolutely no experience with both our offensive and defensive lines. And, we played a tough schedule."

But, there were no excuses about that tough schedule that included three 3A schools.

"I know with this new classification system, a lot of teams were playing a powder puff schedule to get into the playoffs," said coach Shelton. "I just don't believe in that at all. I believe you have to earn your way into the playoffs, and to get better as a team, you have to play a tough schedule. And we'll continue to do that."

Despite the loss, the Eagles definitely have plenty to build on for the 2010 season.

"We should," said coach Shelton. "We're losing some great seniors, but many of our young guys, freshmen and sophomores, grew up this season. But, our guys have got to learn what a work ethic is. We had four starters on the bench to start the game tonight because they missed practice on Monday. Football is a 12 month a year sport now. It's all about commitment and dedicating yourself. We've got a great group of young kids. We're still going to be young next season. But it's what they do in the off-season that will determine how we do next year. We'll be looking for that commitment, that dedication."