By Dan Smith

LUVERNE – Pike County High senior running back Deshon Cowling rushed for 171 yards and scored five touchdowns while the Bulldog defense did not allow a single point for the fourth consecutive game in a 44-0 win Friday night in Luverne’s Glenn Daniel Stadium.

The Bulldogs, 4-0 on the season and ranked No. 5 in Class 3A, rolled to 518 total yards of offense – 391 on the ground – while the defense held the Class 2A Tigers to only 116 total yards.

Cowling scored three touchdowns rushing, one on a punt return, one on a pass reception, and also kicked two extra points.

PCHS Head Coach Fred Holland, a member of the championship dynasty of the 1980s, was pleased with the performance of his offense and defense following a bye week.

“One thing about it, we found some things we felt would work for us on offense, and we had a good week of practice,” Holland said. “Defensively we tried to stress not giving up points and our guys really feed off it. It’s not that big of a thing to me, but more importantly on third and fourth down, being successful in stopping teams and not allowing them to continue a drive. That’s what we stress on defense.”

The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the game when Cowling capped a four-play, 73-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown carry for the 6-0 lead.

The senior put PCHS up 12-0 a short time later when Luverne punted, and right when it appeared Cowling was going to let the punt roll dead, he picked it up at the Luverne 35 yard line and raced through the Tiger defenders for the TD.

PCHS quarterback Jerrell Lawson launched a 7-yard touchdown strike to Cowling in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and the Bulldogs were ahead 18-0.

Cowling scored his fourth touchdown of the evening on an 18-yard carry for a 24-0 PCHS lead.

Lawson gave the Bulldogs a 31-0 lead as time expired in first half on a gutsy 15-yard carry, hitting defenders at the goal line and pushing his way into the end zone. Cowling kicked the extra point.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 38-0 in the third quarter when Cowling scored from 11 yards out, and he also kicked the extra point.

The final score of the evening came with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter when Kamari Jackson ran the ball in from 3-yards out, and a 44-0 lead which the Bulldog defense held for the final.

As pleased as Holland was with his team’s performance, he wants them to improve each week, and he felt they were able to do that Friday night.

“We still have a lot to improve upon,” said Holland. “We’re still not happy with some of the things we do, but our guys are progressing quite well. Each week we talk about getting better in something that we do. I think our guys take that in stride, they accept the coaching, and that’s a big part of it.

“DeShon does a great job and he works hard on and off the field. He’s a great leader, and he motivates the younger kids. We talk about bringing the younger guys on, and the older guys do a great job of that.”

PCHS will travel to Barbour County next Friday night.