Cougars focus on offseason after playoff loss

The York Comprehensive High School football team was unable to match last year’s playoff run that ended in a state title appearance, but the Cougars still has a strong rebuilding season.

Playing without offensive stalwarts Deshaw Andrews and Daurice Simpson, who made North-South All-Star and Shrine Bowl appearances, respectively, the YCHS team had its moments.

The Cougars, who finished 8 -4 for the year following Friday’s 40-21 first-round playoff loss to pass-happy Nation Ford, were ranked in the top-10 for much of the season.

Having to compete against the high-flying Falcons with do-everything quarterback Wally Wilmore hampered by a bad leg, the Cougars were unable to match Nation Ford’s point production for much of the game.

That is until a fierce fourth-quarter rally that through a scare into the visiting Falcons.

Sophomore quarterback Brayden Hawkins, a 6-foot-2, 208 pound late-season transfer from a high school in Union County, N.C., delivered a 30-yard touchdown toss to junior stalwart Paul Moore with 7:12 showing on the scoreboard clock.

After recovering an onsides kick, Hawkins again found Moore open on a well-executed pass play for first-down yardage inside Nation Ford’s 20.

Moments later, senior running back Brandon Garvin penetrated the end zone from two yards out, slicing Nation Ford’s lead to 26-21 with 6:11 left in the game and frenzied YCHS fans roaring in approval.

The Cougars were clearly in a position to overtake the Falcons.

But it was not to be. Nation Ford unleashed its vaunted passing game and scored twice in the final four minutes to seal the win.

Quarterback Cole Martin passed for 400-plus yards for the game, often finding ace receiver Hank Tuipulotu, who finished the game with 12 receptions for 170 yards.

“The week off, we really weren’t able to prepare for this game,” said YCHS head coach Bobby Carroll. “We didn’t know who we were gonna play. We had four days this week to prepare.”

Carroll lauded the visiting Falcons for playing at a high level.

“They’ve got a great football team,” he said after the game. “They’ve got a good quarterback and four or five good receivers. Tonight, they played lights out on defense.”

Carroll added: “I think we got one first down in the first half and played over 55 downs of defense. You can’t play man coverage that many times. We really ran out of stand-up people to play.”

Carroll noted that Wilmore was banged up, recovering from a sore leg.

“Wally was a little bit behind the eight ball all night,” Carroll said. “We brought Hawkins in there. I think we found us a quarterback for the future. He threw the ball extremely well. I know he threw two picks, but I think there’s some light out there.

But Carroll said Hawkins “hasn’t been here long enough to establish chemistry between himself throwing the ball and the wide receivers. You gotta have a mesh between those two.”

Hawkins talked about the transition since his return to Cougar Country.

‘”I feel comfortable with my teammates since moving back to York,” he said. “Getting to know the players and being able to come to practice means a lot. Looking to next year, we’ve just got to work harder in the weight room, off the field and on the field.”

Carroll maintains that the future is now.

‘We’ve got some good football players,” Carroll said. “I think the rising 10th-graders and 11th-graders will buy into the process of working their rear ends off in the offseason.

Carroll said the team is already looking to the next season. “We’ll take two or three days off and then start some kind of conditioning.”

Carroll, who is averaging 10 wins a season in his five years as Cougar head football coach,said takes the offseason seriously.

“You’ve got to,” he said. “If you don’t start the offseason now, you’re behind. We made some glaring mistakes you can correct, hopefully in the offseason. We’ll get it done.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Cougars focus on offseason after playoff loss."