After falling by 35 points in a Kickoff Classic game last Saturday, the Cougars turned it up a notch and coasted past the Florida School for the Deaf Dragons 49-13 at Merritt Island Christian on Thursday night.

The Dragons took a 6-0 lead 21 seconds into the game when the Cougars fumbled on the 2-yard line on their first play from scrimmage. On the next play, Florida School for the Deaf quarterback Cory Koskie scored on a draw, but the extrapoint kick failed. It was a long time before the Dragons got near the end zone again.

The Cougars put 28 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter and never looked back. Three of the touchdowns were direct results of turnovers as the Dragons fumbled away three straight kickoffs and Merritt Island Christian capitalized each time.

After halftime, the Cougars continued to pour it on, tallying three more touchdowns on long drives mixing runs and passes before the final seconds ticked off.

KEY PLAYERS: Merritt Island Christian's running game piled up plenty of yardage, with junior halfback Chance Rawls picking up 90 yards on just 10 carries. Justin Cowart had two rushing touchdowns and added another TD on a 58-reception for the Cougars.

Merritt Island Christian defensive end David Dixon recovered two fumbles that led to Cougar touchdowns on offense.

By Ed Pierce - Florida Today

THEY SAID IT: "We really just had three days to get ready and we were pretty dinged up after the Kickoff Classic against Carrollwood," David Nevad, Merritt Island Christian coach said. "It was a quick three-day turnaround, but our blocking was better, our tackling was much better and we stopped turning the ball over."

After defeating the Dragons 26-0 a year ago, Nevad said the Florida School for the Deaf continues to improve.

"They're a much better team and we couldn't let up against them at all," Nevad said. The touchdown scored by Dixon for Merritt Island Christian in the second quarter off a botched punt was the first of his career.

"It was an awesome experience," Dixon said. "I was thinking what it would be like to score a touchdown right before that series. It kind of just happened. I saw the ball, got it and ran. It was a godsend."

WHAT IT MEANS: The Cougars now have momentum entering a new season and will host Vero Beach St. Edwards on Sept. 17.

RECORDS: Merritt Island Christian 1-0; Florida School for the Deaf 0-1.

Pallotti surrendered two special teams touchdowns in the first half, including one on a blocked field goal attempt, in a 37-13 loss to Maryland School For The Deaf in the season opener at Fairland Regional Park in Laurel. The Panthers trailed 29-7 at halftime and then opened the second half with a scoring drive, but the remainder of the game belonged to the MSD Orioles, a Frederick school that has won seven consecutive National Deaf Prep championships and eight of the last nine.

"We had chances to get back into the game and we gave up those two special teams scores," said Pallotti coach Pat Courtemanche. "We had a nice drive to start the second half and get back into the game, but we made too many mistakes after that. We had a sloppy week of practice and it carried over into the game. We also had guys cramping up on a night when it was probably 65 degrees, so we have to do a better job with conditioning."

The Orioles opened the game with an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive that lasted more than five minutes and ended with an 11-yard touchdown toss by quarterback Todd Bonheyo. The Orioles later intercepted Pallotti quarterback Rafi Correa near midfield and capitalized as Ethan Kramer ran 46 yards out on a misdirection play that thoroughly confused the Panther's defense. Kramer's two lead blockers on the play never encountered a Pallotti defender.

When the Panthers countered with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that lasted more than four minutes to get within 14-7 with 3:49 left in the first half, it looked as though the hosts were right back in the game. A.J. Bright went 42 yards down the right sideline to give the Panthers a first-and-goal at the Orioles' 3-yard-line. Drew Tyler scored on the next play to get the Panthers on the scoreboard.

But the ensuing kickoff was a microcosm of the Panthers' evening. Pallotti had only 10 men on the field until Nate Osbourne belatedly sprinted onto the coverage team. Kramer misplayed the kick at his own 14-yard line and hustled back to the MSD 12 to grab the ball. The Orioles' return man quickly regrouped, found a seam in the middle of the Panthers' coverage and darted 86 yards to the end zone. Bonheyo connected with Shawn Harrington for the two-point conversion and a 22-7 lead.

"That was just a great individual effort on his part," Correa said of Kramer. "He had to go back and get the ball and then he made the most of it. He just wanted it. Their whole team played with a lot of passion. I don't think they were better than us, they just played like a team and they played together. We made a lot of mistakes, but there were things that we can fix."

After going three-and-out on their next possession, the Panthers got a break when Bonheyo fumbled and Emmanuel Cooke recovered at the Orioles' 15-yard-line. When the Panthers lost four yards on three plays, they sent kicker Travis Harrison out to attempt a 36-yard field goal. Two Orioles got through the line and one of them blocked the kick, and a third defender, James Steingeiser, caught the ball at his 25 and raced 75 yards for an improbable touchdown to give the visitors a 29-7 halftime lead.

"That was a 10-point swing right before halftime," Correa said. "We had the chance to get a field goal there and they blocked it and ran it back."

Pallotti opened the second half with a simplified attack, and Bright carried four times for 55 yards and scored on a 40-run cutback run up the middle to narrow the deficit to 29-13. Bright, however, was stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt and the Panthers did not score again. Kramer got the game's final points with a 7-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

"We knew they were good," Courtemanche said. "People think they don't play a hard schedule, but they're a good football team. They were able to execute their plays better than we did."

Article by Ted Black | Staff Writer and Photo by Rachel Fus from The Gazette.net