Game from Sept. 25

Mitey Mite White

Apex MM White played a great game on a hot Saturday afternoon and again came out on top against a quality opponent. Once again the Apex defense was stingy; they have yet to give up more than 7 points in a game. This is a huge accomplishment.

This week the defense was lead by Mason Garrett (who had a fumble recovery), Tabion Oglesby, Daniel Moshkowitz, David Nowak, Kaelob Mann, Joe Joe Murray, Archer Zureich, Ashton Hook and Ethan Lamb. Logan Wentz, Cole Callahan and Bryson Smith continued their stellar play making numerous tackles in the backfield. Isaac Baugh broke up several pass attempts. The Cary defense had a hard time finding the football all day. The Cougar offense was lead by Baugh, Jake Mitchell, Chase Mullins, Jones, Jagger Barfield, Jacob Shaffer, Sean Horton and Cade Kearney.

Quarterback Horton played flawlessly leading the offense the entire day including an 80 yard touchdown run on a perfectly executed misdirection play in the first quarter. Fullback Mullins was again a workhorse blocking and picking up first downs on several 4th down plays. He also broke loose for a 40 yard scamper down the left sideline in the 2nd quarter. Tailback Baugh again turned on the jets and broke loose for a 15 yard touchdown run. He was a stud at running back picking up huge chunks of yards in the 2nd half including the 4th quarter touchdown that sealed the game. Of course none of these runs are possible without blocking from the Cougar offensive lineman. Playing against a much bigger defense they fought their guts out for four quarters and were the reason the offense was so successful. It was a great day of football. Some of our younger players stepped up and played key roles. Coaches , parents and players agreed this team is making great progress week by week and playing as a team. Most importantly everyone had fun and enjoyed playing the game. Mitey Mite Black

On Saturday Apex took on a tough Bulldog squad from North Raleigh. The coaches knew the Bulldogs would be well coached and ready to play and knew the Cougars would have their hands full. The young Apex squad kicked off to start the game and what happened was a sign of things to come for the rest of the game. On the kick off the ball bounced around and the Cougars, rather remain disciplined for the tackle, went for the ball. This gave the Bulldogs a lane to the sideline which they took and ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. The Cougars then got the ball back, but did not have it long before they turned it over on a fumble, which led to another Bulldog touchdown.

The Cougars now found themselves in a 14-0 hole, but they continued to fight in the first half and after a long run by Daniel Rose the Cougars found themselves inside the Bulldogs 5 yard line. Will Donohue punched in what turned out to be Apex's only touchdown of the day. Austin "The Foot" Tingen kicked the PAT to cut the deficit to 14-8. The half ended on a great defensive stand by the Cougars in which big plays and hits were made by Rose, Harvey Cooper, Patton Germann, Cooper Nowell, and Zach Vigue. Apex got the ball to start the second half and were poised to take the lead, but again they fumbled the ball and set the Bulldogs up with great field position. Fumbles were the story of the day and it was not forced fumbles but miscues by the Cougars that cost them the ball. In all the Cougars fumbled the ball 5 times, which stopped potential scoring drives. North Raleigh did not make the same mistakes and that was the difference in the game.

The Cougars were defeated in the game, but learned many valuable lessons, which they can use to improve before facing Cleveland Black this week at Lufkin Road Middle School. The young Apex team learned that every game might not go their way, but what is important is the effort they put into each play. With this tough loss the boys are ready to get back to practice and improve. Mitey Mite Gold

The Apex Mighty Mite Gold hit a milestone this Saturday when they played the Durham Eagles. The same Cougars team that won only one game last year finds itself at 4-1 on the season and its latest victory against the formidable Durham squad.

It was a day when the score reflected the hard work, effort and execution on both sides of the football for the Apex team. Credit four touchdowns for the offense and a shut out for the defense. Captains Will Norman, Geoffrey Forsythe and Jackson Marley represented well. Kevin Conroy set the tone early with a gritty, hard earned 6 yard run. Hunter Kelley pulled from the guard position to lay out the Durham end and spring Kevin down to the 10 yard line. However the first drive came up an inch short for the Cougars and it was now time to test the defense against the fast Durham team. Geoffrey Forsythe, Will Norman, Arthur Phillips, Brien Conroy and Hunter Kelley stopped up the middle while corners Payton Smith and Graham Rienke Sealed up the perimeter. A day that would only allow two first downs by the mighty Eagles. First half highlights include a fumble recovery by Graham Reinke as well as some impressive tackling by Jackson Marley, Jeremy Berkowitz, Payton Smith. Zack Mullins had a good half including two consecutive tackles back to back. Jake Vehslage held up his responsibility by containing at right end and Tyler Owens got in the highlight reel shedding two blockers and taking the runner down to stop a fourth down conversion for the Eagles. Offensively, Kevin Conroy had several nice runs behind the blocking of Liam Murray, Kyle Juris and Grey Hanburger. Jaden Roundtree scored as well behind the blocking of Hunter Kelley, Zach Mullins and Jake Vehslage. The halftime score was 13-0.

The second half validated the first half for the Cougars as the defense continued to swarm. The Cougars played well as a unit pinching runners and keeping the Eagles speed contained. Zack Mullins lead the way in defensive intensity but this was a day when the whole Cougars team was inspired. There were countless pinch combinations. Hunter Kelley and Randon Crider teamed up for a tackle and loss of yardage. Forsythe and Mullins teamed up for a QB sack. Jake Pio saved a TD run. And Kyle Juris made a nice open field tackle. The offense held their usual end of the agreement by scoring twice more. One score was right over the surge created by center Seth Steiman, Hunter Kelley and Liam Murray. The second score was set up late in the game after Zach Mullins crashed the Eagles offense, stripped the ball, recovered it and ran 30 yards before being tackled on the 3 yard line. On the day, the defense forced two turnovers and limited Durham to two first downs. It was definitely a statement for the Cougars defense and rising expectations for this gritty Apex football team. Pee Wee Green

Fall was nowhere in sight as the Apex Cougars took the field to face the Sanford Sting at hot and dusty Paul B. Gay Stadium in Sanford.

The Cougars kicked off to the Sting, but as usual, up against the Cougars starting defense of Connor Castagnero, Connor Collins, Hunter Mayo, Jude Upchurch, Peyton Smith, Tyler Halker, Grey Spector, Jack Donohue, Cody Greene, Cole Johnson and Miquel Dizon, the Sting offense wasn’t on the field for long. Sanford punted, and the Cougars “Green” offense took over. They were moving the ball, but two false start penalties stalled their progress, and they were forced to punt as well.

Once again, the Cougar defense held tough, and the Sting went four-and-out. The Cougar “White” offense took the field and started to make some progress. When they, too, were charged with a penalty, they were replaced with the “Green” offense of Kemp Carswell, Seth Geiser, Upchurch, Ryan McCarthy, Castagnero, Dizon, Smith, Johnson, John LeMoine, Halker, Collins and Greene who punched it in on the next play. The PAT was no good, and the score was 6-0.

The Cougars kicked off to Sanford’s offense which was doubly plagued by penalties and the Cougars defense and went four-and-out again. The “Gold” offense took the field and earned a first down only to be called for holding and give it back. They were replaced by the “Green” offense. "The Big C", Cody Greene, ran a nice sweep, but was stopped just short of the goal line with the half winding down. With time running out, Coach Geiser yelled the play in from the sideline, “46 on 1!” and dared the Sting to stop his boys, but the Cougars wouldn’t be denied, and Greene powered in for another Cougar TD. Testing his team (and Sanford) again, Coach Geiser called in the PAT as well. “Stack 45! Run it!” Once again, the Sting couldn’t stop the Cougars flawless execution of their bread and butter plays, and the PAT was good. the score was now 13-0.

With this cushion in place, Coach Geiser made the decision to sit Greene, who was not feeling 100%. Johnson and Halker both did a stellar job stepping up to fill Greene’s considerable shoes at tailback.. The second half was, unfortunately, plagued by penalties and personal fouls by both teams. The bright spots were an interception by Dalton Phillips and the third Cougar touchdown, scored by Castagnero, the Hines Ward of the Pee Wee Green team (always smiling as he knocks people around) The PAT was no good, so the final score was Cougars – 19, Sting – 0. The Pee Wee Green Cougars record now stands at 5 and 0. Flag Gold It was a hot and humid Saturday morning at Lufkin Middle School. It was not quite evident if it was the weather or the Cougars from Apex that made that way. The Apex Gold Cougars were facing the North Raleigh Black in a battle of pint-sized giants. The Cougars won the toss an elected to go on offense first and it didn’t take them long to crank up the heat. On the third play from scrimmage, Tanner “T-Train” Hunley took the hand off on a reverse to the right, made a nice move to avoid the cornerback and then darted through the hole and was off to the end zone for a 30 yard TD run. The hole was opened up due to text book blocking by Kyle “the Boss” Boland, Josh “Big Red” Knudten and Charlie “Hustle” Riesett. North Raleigh took over on offense and on the first play completed a long pass and run that was stopped at the Cougars 15 yd line as Donovan Shepard hustled from behind to pull the receiver’s flag before he could get to the end zone. Cougar D played tough but eventually broke as the NR Black scored on a sweep play on 4th down. With the Cougars in possession of the ball again, they methodically marched down field with one nice run after another. After a first down run by Gavin “Gator 8” Gallaher to the NR Black 18 yard line, Donovan “All Day” Shepard took the next snap from the “wildcat” formation and sprinted right looking for a hole to run through. He found it, behind perfect blocking by Grant “Big Game” Garey and Kieran “Beast of the Southeast” Murray. Donovan later said, “the hole was so big I could have driven my Mack Truck through there”. With the Cougars now back on D, NR Black started a very good drive of their own. On a sweep by the QB, NR was able to get the ball down to the Cougar 5 yard line, 1st and goal. Coach Eric Hunley had a quick pep talk with his defense. Whatever he said certainly worked as NR Black was unable to move the ball any closer and the Cougars took over on downs. That’s when things got a little hairy for the Cougar offense. After a loss of couple of yards on first down and a couple of bobbled snaps, the Cougars were facing 4th down from the goal line. With the ball an inch from the goal line, Coach Sean had confidence in the O-line and their favorite formation and decided to go for it. Once again, the Cougars relied on their “Wildcat” formation and this time it was Gavin Gallaher taking the snap and going left. He cut it inside behind great blocks by Kyle “the Boss” Boland, Jack “Attack” Kovasala and Kieran “Beast of the Southeast” Murray, and once into the secondary, Gavin bolted for the sideline and out ran the defense for a 79 yard TD run (Flag plays on 80 yard fields). That was the last of the scoring for the first half. To start the second half, defense was the name of the game as both offenses traded possessions with not much movement in field position. NR Black was unable to move the ball after great defensive plays by Charlie, Kieran and Josh who spent most of the day in the NR Black backfield causing total confusion. But things changed for Apex when Nick “Lightning” Lucovsky got his hands on the ball. Nick took the hand off and went behind the blocking of the right tackle, “Big Game”, and outside blocking by “T-Train”. Nick then made a break for the secondary and made one great move after another, cutting back to avoid would be flag pullers and he was off to the races for a 40 yard TD run. The Cougars were unable to score anymore but had great runs by Jack “Attack” Kovasala and Nicholas “Monster of the Midway” McMullen. Nicholas did a nice job at QB handing off and running the ball. Jack had a couple nice runs and almost broke one for a big TD run, but the NR Black cornerback made a terrific defensive stop. The Cougars played very well all day and continue to get stronger every week on both sides of the ball, which is a scary thing for the upcoming opponents. Great job Cougars! Jr. Midget The Apex Junior Midget Gold Cougars defeated the Cleveland County Wildcats 28-0 this past Saturday in their first home divisional game of the year. The JM Cougars dominated the game from the first snap to the last and showed their fans and coaches that they are a team on a mission this year. Brandon Freer, Conner Coole, Melvin Briggs and Hudson Ressler all scored for the Cougars. The Cougar defense was relentless and smothering from the opening snap. Chris Carr, Logan George, Patrick Kerr and David Lish formed a defensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage. Defensive ends Michael Kovasala and Justin Kidd both had QB sacks and applied constant pressure. Linebackers Will Cruikshank and Brandon Freer pounded the Cleveland backs while Melvin Briggs, Conner Coole, Theo McKinnon and Anthony Burlingame shut down the Cleveland receivers completely. The Cougar offensive line of Cruikshank, Drew Buchholz, Kovasala, Chazz Washington, Adrian Forte, Ressler and Kerr were outstanding once again. The Cougar coaching staff believes that this offensive line has what it takes to be the best in the division! Running backs Theo McKinnon, Parker Williams, Chance Davis and Melvin Briggs ran hard all game long. QB Brandon Freer hurt Cleveland with his arm and legs as he completed a TD pass and had a TD run as well. Some, but not all of the notables from the game: Will “Cinco Quatro” Cruikshank caught a couple of Freer passes. Hudson “Golden Toe” Ressler booted extra points and pounded through a rushing touchdown. Melvin “The Haircut” Briggs broke the outside and raced 40 plus yards for a Cougar score. Anthony “The Vacuum” Burlingame had 3 interceptions. Drew “Gastineau” Buchholz had multiple sacks. Conner “Cooleeee” Coole had a nice TD grab. Brandon “Slash” Freer burned Cleveland with his speed and passing accuracy. David “D”Lish sneered his first interception at cornerback. Justin “The Club” Kidd had a QB sack while playing one-handed (he broke his hand a week ago). Michael “Kovo” Kovosala with multiple QB sacks. It was a great effort by all. ==================================== Apex Cougars Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading is administered by the Apex Sports Authority, a 100% volunteer organization that sponsors football, cheer, wrestling and lacrosse programs for area youth. Please visit http://www.asacougars.com for more information. ==================================== Games of October 2 Flag Gold 9am at Lufkin MS vs. Cary Green

Flag Green 9am at North Raleigh vs. NR Deuce

TM Gold 10am at Lufkin MS vs Cleveland Teal

TM Green 9am at Orange County vs. Orange County

MM Black 11am at Lufkin MS vs. Cleveland Black

MM Green 12:45pm at Lufkin MS vs. N. Raleigh White

MM Gold Bye *** No game this week ***

MM White 2:15pm at Lufkin MS vs. Garner White

JPW Black 1:45pm at Capital City vs. Cap City Gold

JPW Gold 3:45pm at Lufkin MS vs. Cleveland

PW Black Bye *** No game this week ***

PW Green Bye *** No game this week ***

JM Gold 1pm at Tri County vs. Tri County