The Locker Room
November 26, 2000
Hurricane
Winds Blow a Sigh of Relief The Northwest Region Champion Cougars put up a valiant effort against Eastern Region Champion Heritage, magnet school of Newport News, but succumbed to what will be the Division 5 State Champion, 22-17. Coach Joel Hicks told his team after the game, “They have great talent, but they didn’t play much better.”
Full Story and Interviews by Jeff Wolfe Heritage won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Pulaski County got exactly what they wanted, to go on offense first. PC started at their own 32 after the opening kickoff. The Cougars responded with a scoring drive that took most of the first quarter and involved two fourth down conversions on runs by Josh Calfee. Frank Cobbs scored from 10 yards out to open the scoring after a very questionable motion penalty was called on the Cougars, but only the left side defensive player was moving. The game was officiated by a team of NCAA referees while many deserving VHSL striped teams sat at home. Heritage returned the ensuing kickoff to the PC 44. On the Hurricanes first offensive play from scrimmage QB Jason Cooke threw in desperation to avoid a heavy pass rush by Jeff King and Adam Brockmeyer. The ball missed its intended target and was intercepted by Josh Bowling at the PC 21. On the next play King was called for a questionable penalty. Three plays later, PC set up to punt to start the second quarter. The left side of the line was not ready for the sheer speed of the Heritage, and a Hurricane defender slipped through the left side and blocked the Cougar punt. It was recovered in the endzone for a touchdown, and the PAT evened the score at 7. On the next series the Cougars narrowly avoided a turnover deep in their own territory when a handoff to Calfee was knocked loose. He was able to circle back and pick it up, but was met by several Hurricanes for a large loss. PC had several long carries, but not enough to make up the deficit and had to punt. Heritage started near midfield and appeared to score on a long run by Michael Johnson, but it was reduced to just an 8 yard gain after a clipping penalty was assessed. Several plays later, Cooke dropped back to pass but had the ball knocked loose by King. The Hurricanes recovered the ball, but the lost yardage would soon bring about a punting situation. The snap was high, and bobbled by the punter who was tackled hard by PC Junior Gordon Cross. The Cougars drove deep into Hurricane territory but had to settle for a field goal. PC took the lead again, 10-7. On the last offensive play of the drive, Wheeling showed he has foot speed to compete with Heritage. He took the QB bootleg and rolled right and juked the defensive end with a jaw-dropping move. However, a Hurricane linebacker chased him down, and limited the gain to just a few yards. Heritage’s next drive stalled just into PC territory. The Hurricanes lined up to punt, but snapped the ball to the up back. The Cougar return team had a prevent call on, smothered the runner, and took over on downs. The Cougars played good coverage on the second half kickoff, and Heritage would start at its own 21. Heritage ran for no gain, threw incomplete, then was penalized five yards. A stop here and a punt might have given PC good field position. But this was not to be. On third-and-15 Cooke threw a lob pass down the right sideline to Larry Davis for the first down. The Cougars short defensive backs made man-on-man defensive plays all night against receivers who were 5 inches taller. Wheeling was in man coverage and played the opponent and ball perfectly, but could not stop this reception. On the next play Michael Johnson turned the corner and made this game his personal track meet, winning the gold medal on a 63 yard touchdown sprint. After turning toward the goal line he made no move and broke no tackle, but ran the seam directly between the safety and the corner untouched. The PAT gave Heritage the 14-10 lead. The Heritage defense seemed invigorated and held PC to 3 plays and a punt. Cooke ran the option left, pitching to Johnson who speed around the defensive end for a long run, but David Hale made the touchdown saving tackle. The Hurricanes turned the ball over on downs several plays later after an incomplete pass. Again the Cougar offense was stifled, and would punt after three plays. Johnson scored again on a 53 yard run, cutting back inside a block on the end at the line of scrimmage. The safety had over-pursued and could not recover anticipating Johnson would again turn the corner on the outside. Leading 20-10 Heritage decided to try a two-point conversion. The holder and the kicker ran to the right. Chris Denny thought the holder had the ball, caught him from behind and tackled him. But the kicker had the ball and the Cougars were penalized for the ‘tackle’. Wheeling smashed the kicker at the goal line for the Hit-of-the-Week award, but the 2-point conversion was good. It remains to be seen why Heritage wanted the two point conversion here. A failed attempt would have set up a situation at the end of the game where PC would have needed just an onside kick recovery and a long field goal to tie. The Cougars would have to punt again. Johnson had another apparent touchdown, called back by a clip. Then Heritage fumbled and PC recovered. They moved the chains once but had to punt. Hamblin put Heritage in deep at the 10. Johnson had a 40 yard run after the option pitch and Hale had another touchdown saving tackle. The Hurricanes looked like they would score again after driving to the PC 10. Then Hale picked off a short Cooke pass in the endzone. The Cougars put together a spirited 80 yard drive. Greg Cobbs got behind the Heritage safety, but Wheeling’s pass hung in the air too long, giving the defender time to recover and knock the ball away. Jeremy Porter took a hand off right and showcased his blistering speed. [This play should prove to be a foreshadowing of what he will do in the 2001 season, projected at fullback. Imagine the Fall 2001 backfield, Wheeling QB, Porter FB, Calfee HB, and Greg Cobbs Wing Back.] Calfee would go over from seven yards out, and the PAT cut the deficit to 17-22. The onside kick hit a Heritage player, and continued on out of bounds about 14 yards downfield, and just beyond the grasp of a diving Frank Cobbs. The Hurricanes took a knee to run out the clock and breathed a sigh of relief with what little wind they had left. Heritage will advance to the state title game against Dinwiddie Co. H.S. Sometimes comparing common opponents and scores at different times in the season can often be unfruitful. But how much have the Dinwiddie Generals improved during this season? They opened the season by defeating Halifax Co. 21-19, a team the Cougars pasted 45-7. Someone ask the Hurricanes who they think is the state runner up after they go 14-0 this Saturday. Post-Season Quotes Coach Joel Hicks “ It hurts when you lose. There’s nothing I can say to take that away. This is how it’s supposed to be (in the playoffs). You play to win. When you get beat, you hang up your pads and go home. Don’t hang your head, you have nothing to be ashamed of. ” Frank Cobbs “We have great senior leadership on this team. That’s why we got so far.” Adam Roop “We have been together since we played against each other on the Cowboys and the Red Raiders. This is the first year our group lost a game when it was our group on the line (this senior group). We were undefeated our Freshman and Sophomore seasons.” Antoine Meadows “I enjoy being with teammates. I wouldn’t want to play with anybody else but them.” Bill Farlow “I’m going to miss seeing these guys every day. Just being here with them, together.” David Hale “It’s meant everything. I’m going to miss it.” Jon Anderson “This is the best group of guys I’ve ever played with. We always help each other. We have a strong team.” Mike Alderman “It’s awesome cause we played together. It’s like family. We see each other more than we do our own families sometimes. I wouldn’t play for another team.” Jeff King “It’s real special. You only play high school football once.” Mike Santolla “It’s meant a lot to me. It’s fun to go out together and give 110%.” Josh Bowling “I grew up with just about everybody on this team. It’s more than just coming to play football. We were here to have fun. We stuck together like a family. Once a Cougar football player, always a Cougar football player.” Coach Joel Hicks “This group was easy to coach. They always catch on quick.” Game
Pictures by Steven Marcus
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