High school football: Cove survives first-round matchup with Outlaws

Published 9:20 am Monday, November 7, 2022

ENTERPRISE — Enterprise had just completed a comeback from 16 points down in the second half and pulled even with Cove when Caden Fent scored on a 5-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.

The Leopards, though, had an immediate response.

Wyatt Burgess returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards for the eventual winning score, and a last-second attempt at a tying touchdown by the Outlaws fell short as Cove escaped with a 30-24 victory Friday, Nov. 4, in the first round of the eight-man playoffs.

Cove advanced to the quarterfinals and a matchup with Powder Valley, while the Outlaws saw their season come to a heartbreaking end after they had righted the ship from a midseason three-game losing streak.

“What I’m most proud of is the fact we were down two touchdowns and we brought it back (to even),” head coach Josh Harman said. “The kids did not give up. Unfortunately, we did not make enough plays.”

Three turnovers, including two deep in the red zone, proved to be too much for Enterprise to overcome, though they made a strong effort to do so.

Fent, who rushed for two touchdowns and passed for a third, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to pull Enterprise within 24-16. Cove had scored earlier in the period to take a two-possession lead.

Then in the fourth, Fent scrambled on a designed pass play and found the end zone again to tie the score, the first time the score was even since late in the second quarter.

Burgess’ return, though, put Cove back ahead, forcing Enterprise to have to try to come back one more time. The Outlaws drove deep into Cove territory before fumbling inside the 5-yard line, giving the ball back to Cove.

They got a stop and had one more chance on a pass play from the Cove 18 on the last play, but the pass fell incomplete, sending Cove into the next round of the playoffs.

Enterprise turned the ball over on its second play of the game, and the Leopards responded with a score for an early lead.

Enterprise, as it has all year when faced with adversity, responded. “We had some challenges with injuries and other things this year,” Harman said. “I’m proud of how our team handled the adversity they faced.”

Fent, who passed for 133 yards and rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries, threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tegan Evans to even the score at 8-8 after one.

The score held until Cove scored late in the half on a long TD run. Enterprise drove deep into just before the half ended, but fumbled inside the Cove 5, snuffing out the opportunity and going into the half down 16-8.

Another long TD run by Cove made it 24-8 early in the third before Enterprise rallied.

Fent and Ashtyn Irwin provided the majority of the offense for the Outlaws. Irwin, who a week earlier rushed for more than 220 yards on just eight carries, carried the ball 26 times for 87 yards Friday night.

“They stifled him pretty good,” Harman said of Cove’s defense.

Irwin also led Enterprise’s defense with 12 tackles and a sack, and Chase Duncan had nine tackles.

Enterprise finished with a record of 6-4 overall, the best record for the program since also going 6-4 in 2012.

“This was a good first year that left kids (with) a taste in their mouth for more playoff football,” the first-year head coach said. “Hopefully our young kids learned a lot and can build off the success of our seniors.”

The team loses four seniors to graduation, but has a solid core of returners back to build on.

“I think from that standpoint, we’re certainly going to miss the four seniors,” Harman said of Fent, Duncan, Tanner Kesecker and Nevin Goldsmith. “They were a great group of seniors to have for our first year as a coaching staff.”