Happy Halloween!  With Ghosts and Goblins in the air, the Herndon Hornets visited the undefeated Oakton Cougars for a little old-fashioned punkin-smashing Concorde district football.  The Cougars were in no mood for any tricks, only the treats that would go along with the first 10-0 record in the schools 41-year history.   Wearing all black, the Cougars were ready to set the tone and reverse the past two-year’s history of losses to the Hornets.

Oakton kicked off and the Cougar defense was up to the task, pushing the Hornets backwards on 4 of the first 5 plays and forcing a Hornet punt.  Herndon’s defense returned the favor and forced and Oakton punt.  The Herndon returner fumbled the punt and Kyle Farrell alertly fell on the loose ball handing it right back to the Cougar offense at the Herndon 31-yard line.  Six plays later the Cougars were in the end zone.  Trey Watts carried the ball the final 2 yards for the touchdown.  Ray Goins extra-point kick made the score 7-0, Oakton.

Oakton kicked off and again the swarming Cougar defense held the Hornets to three-plays-and-out.  Daniel Aevermann came up big with a tackle for a loss.  Trey Watts electrified the crowd with a 32-yard punt return dodging 8 would-be Hornet tacklers before going down.  This time the Cougar offense would only need four plays to find the end zone.  Two beautiful pass plays from Chris Coyer to Wade Reynolds of 10 and 24 yards respectively would set the ball at the Herndon 1-yard line.  From there, Jonathon Meadows took the direct snap and ran into the end zone for the touchdown.  Ray Goins kick made the score 14-0, Oakton.

The Cougar defense forced a third straight Herndon punt to end the first quarter.  The big play being a Jack Tyler quarterback sack on third-down.  The Oakton offense behind Ryan Harris drove the ball to the Herndon 13-yard line before stalling and a 30-yard Oakton field goal try was blocked.  On the ensuing Herndon possession, the defense forced yet another Hornet fumble and this time Bret Halleran recovered giving the ball right back to the Cougars.  Harris led the offense back down the field and into the red-zone again.  Trey Watts carried the ball the final 1-yard for the touchdown.  Goins kick made it 21-0.

Herndon took the ensuing kickoff and got their first drive of the evening going.  Starting at their own 35-yard line, the Hornets marched to the Oakton 15-yard line.  On third down, Jack Tyler stepped in front of a Hornet pass, making the interception, and racing back up-field to give the ball back to his offense for one last scoring chance.  With 49 seconds on the clock, Ryan Harris passed to Matt Chandler for 13, to Watts for 10, and to Watts again for 18 getting the ball to the Herndon 5-yard line with 3 seconds left on the clock.  Ray Goins came out and kicked a 22-yard Field Goal as time expired in the first half.  Oakton 24 – Herndon 0

Oakton received the second half kickoff and picked up right where they left off.  The Cougars began play on the Oakton 36-yard line and drove 64 yards in 7 plays to the Herndon 15-yard line.  From there, Chris Coyer dropped back and hit Jay Young at the two.  Young spun away from two would-be tacklers into the end zone for the touchdown.  Goins kick made the score 31-0, Oakton.  Not to be outdone, the smothering Cougar defense forced Herndon punts on both of their two possessions of the third quarter.  After the second punt, the Cougar offense began play at the Herndon 37-yard line.  A quick 25-yard run by Chris Coyer brought the ball to the Herndon 12-yard line.  Jonathon Meadows would do the rest carrying the ball around left end for a 12-yard touchdown.  Goins kick made the score 38-0, Oakton at the end of the third quarter.

With a commanding lead the Cougars emptied the bench allowing the reserves some valuable playing time.  Mike Green kept the offense running and Sean Schnitzer had a couple of nice tackles on defense.  The final score was 38-13 with Oakton ending their regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.  The Northern Regional playoffs begin next Friday evening at 7:30 with the #1 seed Oakton hosting the #8 seed South County Stallions.

For the evening, the Cougars had 194 yards rushing on 33 carries and 202 yards passing.  Trey Watts led all rushers with 51 yards on 9 carries and 2 TDs.  Jonathon Meadows added 48 yards and 1TD.  Chris Coyer was 8 for 12 passing for 121 yards and 1TD.  Ryan Harris added 81 passing yards on 6 for 11 passing.  Trey Watts led the team in receptions with 5 for 77 yards and Wade Reynolds added 58 receiving yards on 4 receptions.