BOYNTON BEACH – It wasn’t always pretty for the Somerset Academy – Canyons Cougars in their annual spring game, but they got the job done.
Just months removed from a heartbreaking 51-6 loss to Ransom Everglades in the FHIC Bowl Championship that finished off a 5-5 regular season, Somerset Canyons hosted their annual spring game on Wednesday, May 16 against Berean Christian.
The Cougars came back to defeat the Bulldogs, 22-20.
“It’s just one day at a time,” said head coach Tom Halikman about recovering from last season’s loss. “The way you build on it is you have a team that is managing themselves now.”
Early in the game, Berean Christian running back David Rimes took control of the game, scoring two touchdowns in the first half to take a 14-6 lead into halftime.
In the second half, however, the Cougars turned it around.
After going down 20-6 in the third quarter, the Cougars defense stepped up. They were led by cornerback Omari Lowe, who scored a touchdown off an interception in this game.
In the final quarter, the Cougars defense had three turnovers and allowed zero points, putting the Cougars offense into a position to win the game.
On the offensive side, it was running back and linebacker Giordani Point Du-Jour who made the impact, scoring two touchdowns in the quarter to tie the game at 20-20.
“No matter what the score is, it’s still 0-0 and that’s what we kept as our mindset,” said Point Du-Jour about the team’s resiliency in the fourth quarter to come back and take the win.
On the final play of the game, senior linebacker AJ Bates earned the game ball after he forced a safety to win the game for the Cougars.
“I wasn’t told to blitz on that play but I found something, deep down in my gut that told me [to go for the blitz],” Bates said about his mindset on the safety.
While the Cougars struggled with scoring points, especially in the first half, Halikman was happy about his team’s execution in the game.
“We saw a lot of guys grow up today,” Halikman said. “We had some fantastic players at the end of last season. But through January and working with our assistant coaches in the offseason program, some guys just got to a different level of play today.”
The Cougars got a strong performance all game by the defensive line, which got to the Bulldogs backfield on most plays.
Following the spring game, the Cougars will turn their focus on getting ready for the fall with hopes of avenging their blowout loss in the final game of the 2018 season.
“We just have to look forward and build on this next journey, the new Cougars,” said Bates.
Somerset Academy – Canyons will open their regular season against Inlet Grove before traveling to face King’s Academy, last season’s Class 3A state runner-up.
