The Lawrence County Cougars dominated the Mendenhall Tigers 55-19 in first round 4A playoff action Friday night, at Mendenhall.

After Mendenhall grabbed an early 6-0 lead, Lawrence County scored the next 49 points, tallying touchdowns on seven of its next eight possessions.

The Cougars were powered by a dynamic ground attack, led by senior Kylan Cooper. Cooper rushed 17 times for 223 yards and 4 touchdowns. As a team, Lawrence County rushed for 425 yards, and amassed 559 yards in total offense.

Mendenhall grabbed a 6-0 lead on a one-yard quarterback sneak by DK Jenkins. After that it was all Lawrence County. Cooper responded with a 40-yard TD run. On the first play of the second quarter, he scored from seven yards out. On the Cougars’ next possession, he found the end zone from 21-yards away, following that up with a 45-yard scoring jaunt.

On Lawrence County’s final possession of the half, Antwan Pittman plunged in from 2-yard away. Eduardo Del Angel kicked the extra points after all five touchdowns, and Lawrence County led 35-6 at the half.

While the LCHS offense was running up huge totals, the Cougar defense racked up six takeaways. Nathan Boyd, Stefan Pierce, Jerid Dunaway Treizjan McClain all had fumble recoveries and Justin Laurich intercepted two Mendenhall passes.

With the win, Lawrence County improves to 7-5 on the season. The Cougars will host Greene County this Friday. Mendenhall ends its season at 5-6.

Story by Craig Davis.