The Cougars opened up their season hoping to start out fast, not slow. Washington had other plans, defeating the Cougars 17-6.

“I’m disappointed, these guys have worked their buts off in the offseason and did a great job in our preseason. Now you just sit there and wonder what you could have done different,” Head Coach Tim Lewis said. “It seems to be a trend, we have these slow starts and we really dissected as coaches trying to figure out how we could avoid that happening. Apparently we have to go back to the drawing board again.” Senior Alex Hillyer lead the way for the Cougars rushing for 136 yards on 20 carries.

The Cougars got down early which lead them to try to pass to get back into the game. “Right now we’re just trying to find some big play receivers, we just weren’t really aggressive going after the ball,” Lewis said. Junior Derek Jacobus suffered a torn labrum in practice before the game, he was expected to take reps at receiver. “Derek’s a great athlete but our receivers have had a great preseason and they’re very consistent catching the ball. This is the first time many of them have stepped foot on a varsity field.”

Senior Riley Fergus started at quarterback and linebacker which caused him to cramp up. Backup Joel Smetzer came in the game for the injured Fergus. “Riley’s a great player and a great leader we knew that playing linebacker and quarterback was going to be tough especially in the heat like tonight and he cramped up and there’s not a whole lot you can do about that. Joel did a great job of coming in and taking over,” Lewis said.

The Cougars will need a quick turnaround as they host Prairie who looked impressive in a 28-7 victory over Jefferson. The game will be played at Kingston Stadium.