CUNNINGHAM, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Academy Cougars traveled to Montgomery Central High School for the first “Battle on the River” rivalry game since 2016 against the Indians on Friday. The Cougars jumped out to a big lead, and while the Indians stormed back late, Academy held on for a 23-16 win, spoiling homecoming for Central.

Flags flew early and often in this matchup, with both teams garnering several personal fouls. After a few flags on Central, Cougar running back Willie Wilson powered it into the endzone as the first quarter came to a close to start the scoring. On the next drive, running back Jayden Ladner got into the endzone after a long Cougar drive to extend the lead to 14-0, before the first half ended.

To start the second half, Central forced Academy to punt, but a fumbled exchange on a handoff bounced all the way into the Indian endzone, and was picked up by Academy cornerback Andrayas Scott for six points. It seemed like everything was going the Cougars’ way through 2 1/2 quarters.

“We knew it was going to be a physical game, and our guys responded, especially defensively,” said Cougars head coach Steadman Bell. “We gang tackled and got everyone to the ball. We had some good moments offensively, and honestly some really bad moments, but we did what we needed to do.”

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Central wasn’t done yet, though. On the next drive, Indian running back Malosi Laban punched in a score from the Wildcat, and Central recovered the ensuing onside kickoff. While Central was forced to punt, Brayden Sonthavilaylack forced a fumble and returned it all the way to the six-yard line, before Laban punched in his second touchdown of the night. All of a sudden, the Indians had life on homecoming.

“Laban is a great player, and he made plays when he had to,” said Indians head coach Wyatt Page. “Our offensive line has come a long way, and they paved the way for him. We just have to be better, especially about self-inflicted wounds and penalties, so we don’t have to play from behind.”

The Indians were able to force a Cougar punt on the ensuing drive after using all their timeouts to stall the clock, but a muffed fair catch and a recovery by Academy’s Devin Cheek put the nail in the coffin, and Clarksville Academy withstood the comeback to earn a road win in a tough environment.

“This win means a lot, it’s a huge momentum shift,” said Bell. “To be able to finish this type of ball game out, in a really tough place to play, despite everything that went on around it, that’s huge for our program. It was ugly, but sometimes you gotta win the ugly ones.”

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