Despite facing off against the defending AAA state champions, Crenshaw Christian held their own and emerged with a 6-6 tie last Friday night against Pike Liberal Arts.

“We played hard, and I’m really proud of the whole team,” said head coach Roland Jones. “Coach Kilcrease and Pike will battle in AAA, and playing someone like them just makes us better.”

At halftime, Pike held a 6-0 lead after a 40-yard run in the second quarter, and the Patriots threatened again in the third quarter.

Set up on the Cougars’ 12-yard line, a shot at the end zone was deflected and intercepted by Pete King, who returned it all the way to midfield.

A number of big penalties from Pike gave CCA several first downs inside the 10-yard line, but the Cougars had some penalties of their own and faced third and goal from the 27-yard line.

From there, the Cougars reached deep in the playbook and pulled out a little trickeration.

After a toss, running back Justin Thrash hit a wide-open Cody Moses for a touchdown.

With the game knotted up at six each, the Cougars milked the clock for most of the fourth quarter with a solid running game.

“Our timing was off a little, and we still need to work on our offense,” Jones said. “We also got our first and second teams to play two quarters each, and this was a good chance to play everybody. The second team practices as hard as the first team.”

“I’m very pleased with everything,” he added.

Crenshaw Christian kicks off the season Thursday night with a trip to defending AA champion Edgewood.