Troop ekes out victory
By STU MERRY
It was a hard-fought battle at Ray Field this past Friday night as the Garrison-Max Troopers prevailed in a 12-6 inter-county battle against the Central McLean Cougars. The win moved the Troopers’ record to 2-0, while the Cougars fell to 1-1. The contest was the first region game for both teams.
The Troopers got on the board in the first quarter following a Nick Thompson INT near mid-field. Forcing the play was Keegan Swanson who had a direct line to Cougar QB Hunter Jacobs who rushed his throw before being sacked.
A few plays later, QB Noah Sloka found Gabe Lassila down the right side, lofted a pass over a Cougar defender, and Gabe did the rest.
The Cougars answered in the second quarter with a sustained drive, capped by a 2-yard TD run by Wyatt Wilson. The two-point conversion failed and the score was knotted at 6 at 8:42 mark.
Early in the third quarter, and with the ball in their hands, the Troopers found good field position and capitalized. Lassila sparked the Troop with a 23-yard run into Cougar territory. The drive was capped by a Nick Stiefel 18-yard run through tacklers at the 3:47 mark.
