Peewee Cougars Stay Perfect, Juniors Get First Win

The Chatham-Kent Cougars football organization picked up two wins again this weekend, with the Peewee Cougars and Junior Cougars downing their opponents.

The Chatham-Kent Peewee Cougars improved their record to 4-0 on the season, good for first overall in the OFC, with a convincing 41-6 win over the Vaughan Rebels.

Six different Cougars scored touchdowns in a balanced offensive display. Ethan Ciupka, Nakoma Scott, Darion Bacik, and Nolan Larouche all scored rushing touchdowns for the Cougars, while Ethan Jordan rushed for one touchdown and also passed for another to Darwin Mitchell.

Jordan finished 4/5 passing for 95 yards. Bennett Schaffer caught 2 passes for 65 yards, while Jordan and Bacik each scored 2 point converts in the victory. Hunter Shepley was 1/3 on extra points.

The Peewee Cougars defense dominated the line of scrimmage with a great team effort, allowing less than 100 yards of offense. The defense was led by Evan Torres with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries which led to Cougar touchdowns. Tanner Hoorelbeck and Ethan Cuipka each made 8 tackles, while Tyler Shymanski chipped in with 5 tackles, and Braydon Hazzard had an interception.

The Peewees travel to face the Forest City Thunderbirds June 22 at 11am.

Bantam Chatham-Kent Cougars

The Chatham-Kent Bantam Cougars traveled to Sarnia Friday night to play under the lights on the new artificial turf at Norm Perry Park. The Sarnia Sturgeon jumped out to an early lead of 20-0 on the seemingly jet lagged Cougars, however Chatham answered back in the second half closing the gap to 20-13 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Jonathan Cartier helped the Cougars mount a comeback on a 52-yard catch and run for a touchdown from Owen Turner. Cartier wasn’t done there as he stripped the ball from a Sarnia running back and returned it to the Sarnia 30 yard line. After a couple tough runs inside from Liam Henderson and Connor Wright, Jonathan Cartier once again closed the gap on a 36 yard touchdown run set up by some key blocks from Patrick Ezewski and Dean Weiberg.

Unfortunately, Chatham-Kent would get no closer, as a late game interception on a fabulous play by the Sarnia defensive back would set up another Sturgeon toucdown, to make the score 27-13.

Junior Chatham-Kent Cougars

The Junior Chatham-Kent Cougars exacted revenge for their Bantam counterparts, collecting a 23-0 shutout win over the Sarnia Sturgeon Friday.

Offensively, Kelton Evans went 7/12 for 95 yards and a touchdown pass to Jake Anderson to lead the way. Anderson caught 5 balls for 55 yards and a TD. Clay Shreve had 1 catch for 40 yards , while Wallaceburg product Jermaine Caldwell, along with Brendan Marr and Ethan Baylis combined for 100 yards rushing.

Ricky O’Rourke had 10 tackles and a sack, to pace the Cougars defensively, while Alex Formosa had 2 tackles, and haunted the Sarnia quarterback with 4 sacks and a forced fumble.

Evan Wolsey and Mo Ibari both had interceptions for touchdowns, picking up points from the Chatham-Kent defense, and Jake Anderson added 2 interceptions.

The win was the Junior Cougars’ first of the season, something coach Kevin Pugh thinks was a large accomplishment for his team.

“We came into a hostile environment 0-2 and these gentlemen answered the call,” said Pugh. “Total team effort battling a very chippy opponent.”