Triumph prevails in strange ways on the football field sometimes.

On the one hand for Kettle Run, everything that could go right this season did, at least in regard to the scoreboards.

The Cougars finished the regular season a perfect 10-0, clinching the Evergreen District title last Friday night on the Prince William side of Nokesville with a 35-0 drubbing of the winless Brentsville District Tigers.

Junior running back Joshua Tapscott led with three touchdowns on the night. He first put Kettle Run on the board with a 3-yard rush at the 5:37 mark in the first quarter on an inside handoff to the center-left side of the Cougars' line.

"It's just spacing and everything. It's the way you line up," said Tapscott about beating the Brentsville defense. "That's what our plays are designed for, to spread the defense out."

After recovering a Brentsville fumble in Tiger territory, Michael Parker made quick work of the short field by running from quarterback Mac Graham's left side, snatching the ball on a precision handoff while in motion, darting to the right and plowing his way over the goal line for the Cougars' second score of the quarter.

Graham hustled one of his own into the end zone on the ground three plays into the second quarter on a 42-yard keeper along the Tigers' sidelines. He picked up several blocks along the way, turned on his jets somewhere around the 30-yard line and beat the Brentsville secondary for the score.

"(I) took what I could get and luckily it was in the end zone," said Graham.

Tapscott, Parker, Julian Drakeford and Graham picked up big yards on the next Cougar possession as the team traveled 72 yards to pay dirt. Tapscott rolled to his right on a third-and-goal rush at the Brentsville 1-yard line and cued an official to throw his arms up in the air when he crossed the plane.

Sophomore kicker Evan Szklennik successfully booted his fourth extra point attempt to give Kettle Run a 28-0 advantage.

That emphasized the fact that the Cougars scored touchdowns on each of their four possessions of the first half.

Kettle Run finally secured a continuous clock at the 2:39 mark of the third quarter when Tapscott punched in another one-yard touchdown run. The drive came to be after a 21-yard completion to Parker and a 32-yard dump pass to Tapscott ate up most of the team's drive.

Tapscott, a 1,000-yard rusher, credited blockers Matthew Eggers, CJ Brownlow, Johnny Grimmo, Drew Shirkey, William Melendez and Skylar Brownlow for providing him the running room to repeatedly reach the end zone.

Defensively, the Cougars limited Brentsville to two gained first-down in the first half and forced three punts, a lost fumble and a missed field goal to close out the second quarter.

The game marked the Cougars' fourth shutout of the season, the second against Brentsville.

In fact, Kettle Run outscored Brentsville in their two meetings this season by a margin of 94-0.

Players and coaches sprawled across the south end zone after the game on the chilly night as the Cougar cheerleaders joined them for photos with the district trophy that Graham and head coach Jeff Lloyd held together.

"Our first goal is states. That's what our goal but we're taking it one step at a time," said Graham.

According to Tapscott, the run to the district championship serves as a silencer to the team's critics.

"We finally showed teams. After each win, they said we weren't anything, we weren't going to go far. Now we're undefeated. It shows them," said Tapscott.

"Now we've just got to show them what we're going to do in the playoffs: win it. I'm not going to say that we're going to win states, but that's what our goal is."

Hope blooms

While Kettle Run celebrated its championship, more than 100 yards away on the north side of the field, a whole other sense of accomplishment prevailed.

How could an 0-10 team, a group that has only won once in the last three seasons have anything to cheer about, especially after being shutout at home on senior night against a district rival?

Hope.

With less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, sophomore wide receiver Ryne Caudle could be seen repeatedly hustling toward his right side.

Each time, he stood out from his slot position to grab his fellow wide-out by the shoulder pads and tilted him toward the south end of the field.

From a pure spectator's view, it appeared that perhaps Brentsville was having a communication issue or a new player just needed some instructions on how to run a route.

After all, head coach Tommy O'Neill just called a time out even with the game completely out of reach and the Tigers on their last chance to gain any points.

So when that receiver closest to the Brentsville sidelines made a four-yard reception for a Tiger first down near midfield, it appeared whatever Caudle or did said made sense.

But the roar and ovation from the Tiger faithful that followed hinted at something even bigger than that.

On that play, senior Shaquille Bright, made history.

Sometimes in football games, a player with a disability is allowed to come in for one play, pick up the football and run unimpeded through the opposing defense to the end zone as a feel-good type of gesture.

Bright did so much more though: he played actual football.

He ran, turned, caught a throw from senior quarterback Anthony Furr and made a first down, complete with contact.

"There's nothing you can really say about it other than, 'That was amazing,'" said O'Neill. "I mean, that right there was probably the highlight of my year. That may be the highlight of my coaching career."

The senior from Bristow is a student with mild cognitive impairment (MICI or MCI). According to the Mayo Clinic website, "Individuals with MCI are able to function reasonably well in everyday activities" but have "difficulty remembering details of conversations, events and upcoming appointments."

After the game, he spoke haltingly and used the phrase "pretty good" three times to describe the reception itself, his feelings about it and cheers from the fans in the stands.

"(I) caught it with two hands," said Bright. "I felt pretty good."

According to O'Neill, Bright's appearance in the fourth quarter marked the second time the senior had ever stepped foot on the field during an actual game. For the first time though, he had an opportunity to make an impact.

The coach explained that assistant coach Eugene Baltimore approached him at one point and said, "We've got to get Shaq the ball."

All the seniors on the team were due to receive playing time and, as O'Neill mentioned, Bright wanted in on the action.

"He had been asking and asking and asking and I kept telling him, 'Shaq, we'll get you in, buddy.' And when he got in, he made the most of it," he said.

Even though Bright practices with the team on drills, O'Neill admitted the coaching staff just wasn't sure how he would react to a play during a live-action situation.

"He might not even understand, you know, how big that was in the scheme of holding on to the ball, either, you know, and just continuing on offense for the drive there," said the coach. "He's just a special kid."

Even at the end of an 0-10 season, one act from the last moments of the final game of the 2011 campaign can serve as a message to the 2012 team that

"One thing that I'm going to take from it: anything's possible," said O'Neill.

He later added, "And he just took it and made a catch and looked great, and you know, that again, that's hope. That's probably the best way to say that: that's hope."

According to senior Brandon Thompson, the winless season still doesn't damage the bond of brotherhood within the Tigers' organization.

"We're just a family," he said, streaks of tears running still on his face in the cold air. "We lose, lose and lose but we just come out. We love the game and we love each other and we stick out for each other. If anybody fights us, we're coming after them."

As for his advice to the next team, "Buy into it," said Thompson.

"Just buy into the program and let it happen. Listen to the coaches; they won't let you down."