Magnet Cove denies CMS in regular season finale
MAGNET COVE — Magnet Cove closed out the regular season with a 43-16 home victory Thursday against Cutter Morning Star at Kenneth W. Hammonds Stadium.
Cutter Morning Star junior Cameron Lockhart locked the final touchdown for the Eagles with a five-yard rushing touchdown with nine minutes left in the final period. Sam Moore connected with Dagan Rader on the 2-point play to set the final.
“What I saw tonight, especially in the first half, was a timid football team out of Cutter,” said Cutter Morning Star head coach T.C. Shamel. “I saw 22, 23 seniors from Magnet Cove versus my three who have never played football until this year. I saw a very young team that, in the third quarter, bought in and played hard. I was proud of the effort.
“I enjoyed coaching this team in the second half, not so much in the first, and I told them that. They gave me maximum effort in the second half and that’s something we can build on. We’re trying to change some things and I think we made a positive step. To heck with the board up there, we stepped up in the second half.”
Magnet Cove senior Trenton Robinson sealed the Panthers’ final total with 3:30 left in the third quarter as he found the end zone on a 40yard run for the touchdown. Fellow senior Eli Dawson then secured the conversion play to give Magnet Cove (5-5, 4-3) a
43-8 lead.
Lockhart claimed the only two touchdowns for the Eagles
(1-9, 0-7). He put the Eagles on the board with less than two minutes before halftime to make the score 35-8.
“In the third quarter on the opening drive against their No.
1 defense, we sustained a drive inside the red zone and then we turned over on downs,” Shamel said. “We didn’t do that in the first half. We couldn’t do anything against their first bunch. For whatever reason, we just didn’t do it.
“We’re a young team and every one of them will be back next year, so we can go to work and get better to hopefully change that. We’ve got a really great group of sophomores and juniors. I’m losing three seniors, but we definitely have some things to look forward to.”
“The kids came out and played hard,” said Magnet Cove head coach Caleb Carmikle. “A lot of kids got to play and that’s always good.”
The Panthers controlled the first half in every phase of the game. Carmikle celebrated the opportunity to use multiple substitutions.
“We played really well as a whole, defensively,” said Carmikle. “We had some young kids that played tonight and got some really good experience. Hopefully, if we need them down the road in the playoffs, they’ll be able to come out and help us. I’d say the team as a whole really played well tonight.”
Magnet Cove took initiative early in the opening period as senior Aaron Walling recovered a fumble.
Wesley Standridge quickly secured the first score for Magnet Cove on an eight-yard run with 11:48 on the clock. The point-after attempt was successful as the home team marked the score, 7-0.
Three minutes later, Dawson came scored on a fouryard run. The extra point made the lead 14-0.
“It was a good night,” said Carmikle. “We executed really well offensively and tackled well on defense.”
Magnet Cove quarterback Tyler Hodges was 2-for-5 as the junior completed two passing touchdowns in the last six minutes of the first quarter.
Hodges found Landon Stone on a 31-yard passing touchdown to up the score, 21-0. With three minutes remaining before the second period, Hodges brought the Panthers to a 27-0 lead as he connected with Jaryd McJunkins on a 19-yard pass completion for a touchdown.
Moments into the second quarter, the Panthers capitalized early as Dawson busted out a 36-yard rushing touchdown. Robinson converted the two-point play to secure the 35-0 lead.
Carmikle noted his team will have their work cut out for them in the playoffs, but he added they are very excited to have made it this far in the season.