The Kettle Run football program is looking better than ever. At the time of writing this article, the Cougars are currently 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Northwestern District. With their most recent win against Fauquier High School, they’ve won the county out. This season, the Cougars are looking to win back-to-back district championships, which has never happened in Kettle Run history, and make their way deep into the state playoffs.

The Kettle Run offense has been highly productive this season, scoring 253 total points. The passing game has been on point this season with senior Beau Lang at quarterback and the running game has been just as good with an experienced o-line and very talented tailbacks.

Because of the change at QB, the Cougars’ offensive scheme has changed from last year. Last season the heavy focus was on RPOs (Run-Pass-Option), but this season the Cougars have strayed away from those and have decided to involve Lang in the running game. “We run the ball a lot more with Beau because I think he’s faster and a better runner than Elijah was. He can also scramble out of the pocket and make these amazing throws on the run. On top of that, we run a lot more play-action than years before.” said senior Mitchell Phiffer.

The Cougars’ offense has 8 returning starters including running back Peyton Mahaffey, wide receivers Jacob Robinson and Jordan Tapscott, fullback Merrick Denomy, and offensive linemen Mitchell Phiffer, Ethan Tabit, Zach Thompson, and Garrett Hall.

A football team is nothing without a defense, and the Cougars’ defense is about as good as it gets. They’ve been playing lights out, allowing 114 points in 6 games; this gives the Cougars a 139 point differential. The defense has also had a total of 6 takeaways. All of the takeaways being interceptions, senior Kameron Dinicolantonio has been a key contributor with 2 pick-sixes.

The Cougars’ defense has 7 returning starters including defensive linemen Abram Chumley and Ethan Tabit, free safety Sam Rodgers, cornerback Jordan Tapscott, outside linebackers Jacob Robinson and Andrew Strickland.

Coach Porterfield has said, “This is a tested team,” referring to close games, being in close games with teams the Cougars should be blowing out, and their first loss against Heritage. When asked about how the Cougars have performed this year, Senior Mitchell Phiffer stated “In that first game we thought we were going to be really good, but we ended up losing which really humbled us. We learned what it was like to lose in the first game, so we built upon never having to feel that feeling again.”

The Cougars are looking forward to making a playoff run this season and going farther than Kettle Run has ever gone before.