Cougars looking for breakthrough win against Flyers

Cedar Creek (0-2) closes out its early homestand against the Loyola Prep Flyers (1-1) Friday night at Cougar Field, hoping for crisper execution and an offensive breakout in the process.

With two losses out of the gate — a 40-0 defeat to Delhi Charter and 16-14 heartbreaker at home to Delhi — Creek head coach William Parkerson hopes early adversity can light a fire under his young roster, especially after coming up just short against Delhi due to a handful of mistakes.

“I thought as a team it was by far the best we’ve played all year,” Parkerson said of last week’s game. “It was a couple of mistakes that ended up costing us. But I thought our effort and our physicality were the best we’ve had. We just gotta keep working and try to get better this week.”

The Cougars had their chances to overtake Delhi, getting inside the Bears’ 30- yard line and 10-yard line, but failed to score after penalties and turnovers on downs on offense. Defensively, Creek had its strongest outing yet with three takeaways, including two fumble recovery touchdowns by Mason Wooden and Hayden Durrett. Micah Taylor also had an interception as the defensive unit held Delhi to just 97 yards and 0-7 on third down.

But continued struggles on offense kept Creek from getting over the hump, even with Wooden rushing for 78 yards on 13 carries.

“We controlled the clock and moved the football from the 10 to the 10, but we were unable to execute with consistency,” Parkerson said. “The pre-snap penalties, we have to be more focused and locked in and hear the play and stay disciplined so we’re not hurting ourselves.”

Loyola Prep will demand Creek to play at its best to have a chance to win, with the Flyers’ defense proving to be stout through two games — holding opponents to 6 points per game. Loyola lost to St. Frederick 8-6 in its season opener but bounced back with a 28-6 win over No. 9 (1A) Logansport last week.

The Flyers, like Creek, return four starters on the offensive line but differ greatly from the Cougars in offensive philosophy. Loyola has two experienced skill players to lean on in senior running back/ linebacker Patrick Gosslee, who had 900-plus yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, and Mason Drake, a fellow tailback who had 109 yards rushing against St. Fred in week one.

“They’re a good football team. They’re 3- 4 wide, and they mix the run and the pass really well,” Parkerson said. “We just have to keep progressing and getting better and we gotta go out there and play hard and play physical football.”

Cedar Creek (0-2) hosts Loyola Prep (1-1) Friday at 7 p.m. at Cougar Field.