Olympus Whips Copper Hills

It was a warm Friday night on Labor Day weekend when I covered the Olympus vs. Copper Hills football game.

Olympus won the game, 24-7. It was a pretty decisive victory for the Titans, whom I had seen play earlier this season against Hillcrest. It was a pleasure watching them again, and I was also happy to get to know their new coach, Mike Smith, a little bit better. He was a classy guy in the post-game interview.

This was also my first time covering Copper Hills. I had been to the school many times, but never for an actual sports event. Their football stadium is very nice. They have apparently set up a deal with the Sonic Drive-Inn to provide food at the stadium. Smart idea.

The athletic director at Copper Hills is Brad Tingey, whom I had met when he was at Hillcrest. Brad's a decent guy. I met his parents when I was a travel agent, so it means something special to me to deal with him.

Brad showed me the Copper Hills preseason football guide and it was very impressive. The photography was very nice. It's a classy production. I'm hoping I might be able to help them with it in the future, but that's another story.

I also met the photographer who provided most of the photos. His name is Terry Cullop, and he is one of the best I've seen. He gave me his website address while we talked, and I was impressed. The guy can shoot.

Now, back to the game.

Olympus pretty much dominated. Titans' running back Terry Isaia had a big night, including a long touchdown run. Isaia is one of those few backs who can run between the tackles, and outrun the secondary, too. He has a chance to play college ball.

Isaia finished with 154 yards rushing, but because Copper Hills had to focus on him, it also allowed QB Spencer Harris to make some big plays. Harris only threw for 121 yards, but he ran for 50 more and had a big impact on the game, just like he did against Hillcrest.

Copper Hills' QB, Quin Wright, threw some nice passes when he had time to throw the football. He tends to hang on to it too long, though, and that allowed Oly to get some sacks.

When he threw quick passes, that's when Copper Hills moved the football. The Grizzlies have a running back, Colton Fogarty, who had a good night, rushing for 133 yards on 24 carries, but the star of this team is Chandler Johnson. He plays WR, and he is quick and fast. When Johnson got the ball, he could score at any time.

So, what do I remember most about this game? Copper Hills tried several times on fourth down, and failed pretty much every time. Oly had that happen to it at the Hillcrest game a couple of weeks ago. Ironic, isn't it?

Here are some stats from this game:

Olympus 7 10 0 7 - 24
Copper Hills 0 0 0 7 - 7

O - Isaia 1 run (Hendriks kick)
O - FG Hendriks 26
O - Lindsley 34 pass from Harris (Hendriks kick)
CH - Fogarty 1 run (Newbold kick)
O - Isaia 52 run (Hendriks kick)

First downs: Olympus 13, Copper Hills 13
Rushes-yards: Olympus 35-205, Copper Hills 35-183
Passing yards: Olympus 121, Copper Hills 122
Passes: Olympus 12-17-0, Copper Hills 9-22-2.
Fumbles-Lost: Olympus 2-1, Copper Hills 1-1.
Penalties: Olympus 1-5, Copper Hills 4-36
Punts: Olympus 1-35, Copper Hills 1-31.