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J. Thomas Perdue

Times Contributer

MARIETTA- The Flint River Wildcats are now riding a six-game win streak, and they looked strong again against the Old Dominion Christian Knights. The visiting Wildcats’ defense forced seven turnovers and scored three times in what turned out to be a rout of Dominion.

After forcing a turnover on downs on the first Dominion drive, the Wildcats got on the board first with a 3-yard run by junior Will Couch. There was a brief stalemate until the second quarter, when Dominion scored on a long touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7. The Knights recovered a Wildcat fumble on the ensuing drive only to miss a field goal. Flint River struck for the second time on an 80-yard pass from junior quarterback Seth Short to senior receiver Russell Durand. The touchdown gave FRA a 14-7 lead. Durand continued to make his presence felt on defense, intercepting a pass to end the next Dominion drive. The FRA defense gave the Cats another touchdown on the next drive. Nose tackle Skyler Young recovered a Dominion fumble and somehow outran the entire Knights offense for 80 yards to score. Dominion scored late in the half to make the score 20-14, FRA.

Will Couch put some distance between the Cats and the Knights with a 4-yard touchdown run. He scored on a 2-point conversion to make it 28-14. The Cats’ defense scored again on another fumble recovery for a TD, this time by sophomore Nathan Strickland. Junior Jay Adams intercepted a pass on Dominion’s next drive, which led to a 22-yard run by Seth Short. After another interception by junior Chase Tyson, Adams caught a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-14. The Wildcats continued to cruise with Strickland recovering a fumble in the endzone for his second touchdown. Dominion scored near the end of the game, making the final score 56-20.

The Wildcats overcame a slow start to rout Dominion in their first region game. FRA outrushed the Knights 280-16. The defense was dominant once again, with Skyler Young and Kyle Dufresne leading the way. They combined for 7 sacks and 10 tackles. Will Couch led the Cats’ strong rushing attack with 113 yards and 2 TDs.

FRA head coach, Jason Carrera said after the game, “It was a great win for the Wildcats. Dominion had some very talented players, and they were tough to contain. Our defense did a great job tonight with 10 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 3 TD’s. I hope this propels us into the Region Championship game this upcoming week against Piedmont. The guys are coming together and playing as a team and are ready to play Piedmont on Friday.”

The Region Championship will be next Friday in Woodbury. The Piedmont Cougars (who defeated Dominion two weeks ago) will try to slow down FRA’s momentum. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.