Cougars defense and field position, keys in win

 With an average starting field position of the Friend 33-yard line in the first half, the Cross County Cougars did all the damage they needed to in the first 24 minutes of the game Friday night.
Cross County opened with a convincing 51-8 win over the Bulldogs, and it was both an offensive and defensive show for the Cougars.
Through the first two quarters the Bulldogs offense had only 19 total yards, while the Cross County offense had picked up 185 yards, 120 of that coming on the ground.
After both teams didn’t do a whole lot with the ball on their first possession, the Cougars held the Bulldogs and forced a punt that Nathan Thelen brought back to the Bulldog 39 yard line.
Cross County moved the ball with Thelen doing most of the damage, including a 5-yard TD run with 4:02 to play in the first quarter. The PAT by Isaac Moore made it 7-0, and that would be the first of five consecutive drives resulting in a score.
The Cougars went up 14-0 with 14 seconds to play in the first quarter when Treg Lindsley scored from 18 yards out on a fourth and one situation.
Cross County added an 11-yard scoring run by quarterback Tyler Klein, a 28-yard scoring toss from Klein to Thelen and a 19-yard scoring toss from Klein to Moore late in the second quarter.
The Cougars forced two first half Bulldog fumbles, and the defense led by the entire front line smothered the Friend offense all night long.
The second half saw the Bulldogs get on the board, but Cross County had sealed the game with a dominating first half performance.
Next Friday night the Cougars will travel to Blue Hill where they will take on the Bobcats, a pre-season No. 4 in Class C-2 according to the Omaha World Herald.