One offensive weapon wasn't enough for Crenshaw Christian Academy to overcome the speed and agility of Pike Liberal Arts last Friday night.

Senior running back Bubba Faulk toted the ball 39 times for 232 yards and a touchdown and also caught three passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns to lead CCA, but the Cougars' defense allowed too many big plays as the Patriots ran away with a 49-27 victory.

"We played pretty good," Pike Head Coach Brian Seymore said. "Crenshaw's got an excellent 1A football team and Bubba Faulk is probably one of the toughest backs we're going to face all year. He's a very physical back and I don't think our defense did a good job of wrapping up at times. They're tough."

Pike (2-0) jumped out to an early lead when Mitch Herring scampered in from 12 yards out to put the Patriots up 6-0 with 9:04 to go in the first stanza. The point after kick failed.

Crenshaw (2-0) answered back on the very next play when Faulk raced 69 yards for the touchdown. The versatile back also kicked the PAT to give the Cougars its only lead of the game, 7-6.

Senior quarterback Andrew Folmar snuck in from 32 yards out with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter to cap off a 54-yard drive and put Pike back on top. The PAT was no good giving the Patriots a 12-7 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Folmar helped to pad Pike's lead as he scampered 76 yards for the score. Folmar connected with Sam Sellers on the two-point conversion attempt to give Pike a comfortable 20-7 lead.

Sellers scored again for Patriots just before the half on a three-yard run. The two-point conversion failed.

At the half, Pike had a commanding 26-7 lead over the home team.

The Patriots started the second half where they left off in the first by breaking through the Cougars' special team's unit and returning the opening kickoff 76 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was good adding to Pike's lead, 34-7.

Crenshaw didn't rollover for Pike as the Cougars' offense continued to run right at the Patriots' defense. Following a long drive, which ate up a majority of the third-quarter clock, Faulk hauled in quarterback Klin Jones' four-yard pass for the score. The PAT failed, but the Cougars had cut into the Patriots' lead, 34-13.

It only took one play for Pike to answer back as Sellers weaved his way 41-yards for the touchdown. Folmar scooped up the bad snap on the PAT try and ran it in for two points giving the Patriots a 42-13 lead.

Pike's tough-as-nails defense stuffed Crenshaw on its ensuing drive forcing the Cougars to punt. Following a bad snap, the Patriots took over on the Cougars' 9-yard-line. A few plays later, Folmar punched it in from four yards out to give the visitors a 49-13 lead. The PAT failed.

Crenshaw added two more scores in the final minutes of the contest to help gain a little redemption.

Jones connected with Caleub Mount on a 12-yard pass pattern on the Cougars' first of their two final drives of the game. Faulk added the two-point conversion.

Faulk hauled in Jones' 37-yard pass as time expired for the home team's final score. "Crenshaw's really talented for a 1A football team and I think they'll be right in the mix if they keep folks healthy," Seymore said. "They do a quality job on offense because they have so much size up front. That's pretty impressive for a 1A team."

The Cougars' Head Coach Roland Jones said a poor week of preparation attributed to their loss. "We didn't play up to our potential," he said. "We didn't have a good week of practice, but we've got a lot of new starters. We'll get better; we just have a lot of things to work on. I'm not taking anything away from Pike; they've got a good team and have a lot of team speed. I was scared of the team speed all week because we don't have a lot of speed. They broke a couple runs and we didn't have a chance to catch them."

Crenshaw will take on Calvary on the road this Friday night.