Pineville quickly silenced the naysayers on Friday when they hosted Leslie County in the Laurel Bowl. A solid performance on both sides of the ball led the Mountain Lions to a 50-12 victory over the Eagles.

“Our defense played really well,” said Pineville coach Bart Elam. “The only time they scored, other than against our reserves, was on a big play —just a run up the middle. We were able to control the line of scrimmage for the most part of the game.”

The man who paced the Pineville defense was Nick Holbrook — who won Defensive Player of the Game. The senior led the team with 11 tackles. Hayden Callebs and Braiden Lingar tallied eight tackles on the night, while Reece Capps registered seven stops. Deon Coffman, Lee Cox and Matt Golden finished with six tackles apiece.

Golden also returned a fumble for a touchdown during the game.

It was a consistent night through the air that helped set up a ground assault that ultimately crushed the Leslie County defense. Garland Ellis when 5-for-6 for 78 yards through the air.

“We were able to be really efficient with the passing game,” said Elam. “I think we were 3-for-4 in the first half.”

Golden was a beast on the ground tallying 237 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. That effort was enough to earn the senior running back Offensive Player of the Game.

Devon Morris registered 89 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts. Ellis also scored a rushing touchdown on a one-yard plunge.

Landon Couch led the receiving corps with 53 yards on two catches.

“We were truly able to run the football. Our offensive line, we’ve kind of put it on their back the whole summer. We’re going to hang our hats on the defense and running the football,” said Elam. “(The offensive line) really bought into that tonight. That’s the way we’re going to play. Now, I didn’t think we were going to score half of a hundred like that.

“When things get going good, young kids start believing in themselves. It just keeps rolling. That momentum is a big thing. We had a lot of young kids last year that are not playing like freshmen, and we’ve got a freshmen class that’s a really special freshman class. They think they can play like juniors, and actually they kind of did tonight. We’ve got to keep them playing that way.

“We challenged our coaching staff to have a really simple game plan. We went in with about 10 plays tonight. So, it really worked in our favor because we executed really well.”

Up Next

Pineville (1-0) will travel to Jackson County (1-0) on Friday.

Leslie County (0-1) will travel to Whitley County (0-1) on Friday.