The Crenshaw Christian Academy Cougars held their ground last Friday night with a 14-12 win over Coosa Valley, sending them to the AISA Class A State Championship game in Troy this Friday.

The Cougars will face Patrician (12-0) for the championship title with kickoff set for 4 p.m. in Movie Gallery Stadium.

Last Friday night, however, with the Cougars leading 14-12 for the majority of the game, the tension mounted right up until the scoreboard clock ran out.

“It was like déj vu,” head coach Roland Jones said. “Last year during the semi-finals, we had the same thing, the same situation….They were leading at the last of the game, and South Choctaw blocked a punt and they beat us and that kept us from going to Troy. Needless to say, it was intense.”

But last Friday night, the entire second half was scoreless; Coosa Valley couldn’t manage any first downs throughout the entire second half, but then ended up getting a chance to kick a field goal right at the end of the game.

“They had the chance, but the field goal was no good, and that was the ball game,” Jones said. “Our boys played hard, and they definitely found a way to get us to Troy this week.”

Nick Kilpatrick scored both touchdowns for the Cougars during the first quarter; both of Austin Brown’s PATs were true, which proved to be the saving grace as Coosa Valley scored its two touchdowns during the second quarter but missed both extra points.

Kilpatrick was the leading rusher with 253 yards on 24 carries, and two TDs.

On defense, Kyle Furr and Cody Moses led with 8 tackles each, while Will Moses racked up 7 tackles and Justin Thrash had 6.