TONY STINNETT, Courier Co-Editor
Saturday, October 8, 2011 10:22 am
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The young Lions continued to take their lumps in a 55-0 blanking at Meigs County Friday (Oct. 7) as the offense failed to sustain drives and the defense was hit hard early before offering more resistence in the second half.
Cannon County (0-8) remained winless but players have not given up on what they are trying to accomplish, if not for this season, definitely the future.
"We do our best and we give effort, but we just aren't getting the results we would like," junior Ryan McLaurine said. "I'm not making excuses, but we do have a lot of young players who are having to learn things in games as they are growing. We just have to stick together and keep working and the future can be good because we have most everyone back. We just have to get through the tough times."
Friday would qualify as some of the tough times.
The Lions had just 74 yards at halftime and finished with less than 150. On the other hand, Meigs County had piled up 265 yards by halftime and finished with more than 350. The Tigers (4-3) used their ground game to do most of the damage, rushing for 232 yards in the first two quarters to take control.
"Meigs County is a team fighting to make the playoffs and they played like a playoff team tonight," Cannon County Head Coach Joel Schrenk said. "We had made some strides offensively the last couple of weeks and had been doing some good things, but we did not do that tonight. Meigs County had a lot to do with that. They brought a lot of pressure and we didn't respond as well."
Cannon County's defensive players were on the field a large majority of the time as the Tigers used their ground attack to control the clock. McLaurine, Dalton Ryan, Jackson Mason, Thomas Stone and Kyler Walker were the most active Lions and were in on several tackles.
Offensively, the highlights were few. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Jordan had the second-lowest passing total of the season with just more than 100 yards. The previous low was 60 yards at DeKalb County. Cody Petro had another solid night with more than 60 yards receiving. Justin Tobin followed with four receptions.
It doesn't get easier for the Lions as they face unbeaten Smith County in Carthage Friday.