Crimson Wave Washes Over Cougars -- Barely by Pete Cougar Click on a link
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(Opponent Interviews by Jeff Wolfe) The air was thick
with anticipation as the Golden Cougar Marching Band marched out onto the field
of Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium, the only sound being the steady beat of snare
drums to keep pace. Soon after they were all in formation, they began to play
the famous 2001 theme song. Everyone in the home stands responded promptly with
the familiar erupting ovation along with the adrenaline-pumping foghorn from the
press box. As the Pulaski County
High School Cougars made their way down the stadium steps, this writer had two
very intense thoughts running through his head: the pressure that the players
must have been feeling, and whether or not to buy a 50/50 ticket that would snag
the winner almost seven-hundred dollars. The opening kickoff
of the game against the Petersburg Crimson Wave was a beauty, caught by PC
fullback Jeremy Porter who made a long run to the thirty-one yardline. Sadly,
this was all the senior had to offer as he was taken down very hard and visibly
injured. “Jeremy Porter dislocated his left elbow,” said Dr. Dixon Williams.
“We will do more studies on him Monday. But for now it looks like he will be
out at least three weeks,” he added. This left a large void in the Cougar
ranks, which was sufficiently filled by tailback Brandon Anderson, who kept an
unspoken PC tradition alive by running twelve yards and getting a first down on
the first official play of the game. He then ran right to reach the forty-nine,
then the thirty-five, and finally the thirty. With another first
down under their belt, PC caught the Wave off guard by calling on second-string
fullback Derrick Burks, who ran untouched to the twenty-one yardline. Next, he
gave the Cougars a seven yard gain to the fourteen for yet another first down.
With Petersburg seemingly still wondering which way to go, Brandon Anderson ran
another right straight to the five, putting the Cougars in range of a
well-deserved touchdown. Then, Derrick ran straight into a wave of Crimson Waves
for a one-yard gain. It was first and goal on the one-yardline next, so PC
decided they should finish off the drive by handing off to Burks, who would run
right into the endzone. It sounded good, so they went ahead and made it happen
which, followed by a beautiful extra point by kicker John Hedge, put the Cougars
on the board 7-0. A kickoff to the
Wave was caught by their number 82, who wasn't listed on the program, but made
it a somewhat short distance to the sixteen yardline before getting tattooed by
PC defensive lineman Justin "Juice" Lewis. Directly afterward,
Petersburg handed off and immediately got blitzed back to their fourteen. They
were again blitzed on the next play but managed to trudge three yards to the
seventeen, where they failed to complete a pass. After a offsides penalty on PC,
which landed the Wave on the twenty-two, the fourth down status forced them to
punt. The punt was caught by Anderson, who sprinted straight from the twenty-two
to the forty-four yardline. Derrick Burks tried
to follow up with more runs, but was bullrushed and got no gain for the next two
plays. With that in mind, the Cougars called on Ernie Hodge who gained three
yards, making it fourth and seven. A punt by John Hedge sailed straight through
the goal post for a touchback. It was now that the Crimson Wave's offense
decided to take things up a notch, running from the twenty to the thirty-four
for a first-down. Then, the Wave followed up with a delay of game, which pushed
them back to the twenty-nine, making the down first and fifteen. This didn't
hinder Petersburg very much, though, as a completed pass landed them on the
forty-six. A successful run to
the left put the Wave on the Cougar forty-five which came dangerously close to a
first down. It was so close, in fact, that the next play, in which the carrier
ran straight into his own linemen, called for a measurement which revealed that
there was about a foot to be gained. That foot was gained when the Wave's
carrier practically fell over the line and got the first down on the forty-four.
An offsides foul on the Wave came next, which pushed them back to the Cougar
forty-nine. They responded to this by shooting out a long pass, which was broken
up by Brandon Anderson. After another
penalty, this one a false start, Petersburg was forced back to their own
forty-six where they carried right for fourteen yards before Ernie Hodge got the
tackle. It was third and six, so the Wave utilized their running game with a
long run before being tackled and fumbling, which was recovered by about four
Cougars on their own twenty-five. Brandon Anderson was
up to bat next, and he let the crowd know it by running a straight path to the
thirty before the Wave found and nailed him to end the first quarter. The second
quarter began with the Cougars being blitzed but still getting a yard courtesy
of Anderson. On the thirty-one yardline, quarterback Britt Shumate launched a
long pass to Ernie Hodge but failed to complete it. It was fourth and five, and
PC had to punt. They did, and Steven Cobbs autographed the receiver on the
thirty-seven. The Crimson Wave
then ran right and got five yards, after which they made a long pass to the
aforementioned number 82, who ran straight to the Cougar eighteen yardline.
Another run to the left gave the Wave the touchdown, and after a failed extra
point attempt, the scoreboard showed 7-6 with 3:51 left in the first half. The kickoff was
nabbed by Brandon Anderson who claimed the thirty-three yardline before getting
taken down. Next, Anderson continued to prove his worth on the starting lineup,
gaining four yards to the thirty-seven. From there, Derrick Burks ran to the
forty-four for a seven yard gain. Next, Shumate pitched right to Burks again,
but Burks was blitzed and lost five yards. From the PC forty-one, Britt Shumate
passed left to number two, senior John Harmon, who got a first down on the
Petersburg forty-two. It was a decent gain, but an illegal block by PC pushed
them back to their own forty-four. Petersburg retaliated with an offsides foul
which put PC back on Petersburg's side of the gridiron. It was first and
nineteen, and Derrick Burks reached the forty-seven, where Ernie Hodge took the
ball on the next play and literally hurtled the defense and ran for an
eleven-yard gain. John Harmon tried to add some yardage to the board, but was
bullrushed and failed to gain anything. The down was fourth and four, and a pass
by Shumate was intercepted by Petersburg, who returned it for a touchdown from
right under PC's nose. After a timeout by the Wave, they decided to go for the
two-point conversion which they got and made the score 7-14 with 3:36 left in
the half. The next kickoff was
an instant foul, due to landing out of bounds. From the thirty-five, Brandon
Anderson ran right for a gain of six yards at the forty-one, where he gained two
yards next. Another blitz kept Anderson from going anywhere, so with the down
fourth and two, the Cougars punted to Petersburg's Kenneth Blount, who was down
at the Wave's five yardline. The Crimson Wave then called on number
twenty-eight, Joel Watkins, to reach the eleven for a six-yard gain, followed by
another fumble which was again snapped up by the visibly improved Cougar defense
on Petersburg's fourteen yardline. PC decided to mark the occasion next with the
multi-talented Brandon Anderson and Derrick Burks who, in that order, and with
the help of another Crimson Wave foul, marked the board again with a touchdown
but no extra point. There was 1:12 left in the half, and the score was now 13-14
in the Crimson Wave's favor. This proved to be the night's highlight for the
Cougar defense. The Cougars kicked
off to the Wave, who caught it at the sixteen yardline. After this, PC answered
with a quarterback sack that lost the Wave six yards, courtesy of defensive
linemen Justin Lewis, Cory Bentley, and Matt Tilley. The next three plays gained
only five yards for the Wave, who were again forced to punt. The Cougars caught
it at the twenty-eight, but with only seconds remaining in the half, Britt
Shumate spiked the ball, after which they went for a field goal that went wide
left to end the half. The opening kickoff
for the second half was another automatic foul by PC, as it again landed out of
bounds. As before, Petersburg countered with another foul of their own, getting
nailed for holding and being pushed back ten yards. From their own twenty-five
with the down first and twenty, Petersburg's Joel Watkins ran right and claimed
the thirty-four. A pass to number three, Dwane Dean, was completed right before
Dean was tattooed from behind by PC's John Harmon. Another blitz by the Cougars
lost Petersburg three yards, only to be gained after an offsides penalty by PC
got the Wave to the forty-five. Another foul on PC, this one pass interference,
gave them fifteen more yards. A pass attempt was incomplete, broken up by John
Harmon. Another pass attempt was completed right before Ernie Hodge nabbed the
receiver. The down was fourth and two, and rather than punting, the Wave decided
to go for it. They passed for a first down, and the quarterback got sacked on
the next play and lost three yards for all his trouble, thanks to PC linebacker,
junior Shaun Branscome. It was second and
thirteen on the Cougar's twenty-eight, and Petersburg again passed for a
touchdown, making the score 13-20. With 6:21 left in the third quarter, they
decided to again go for two, but the attempt was screwed up by Ernie Hodge. The
kickoff was again caught by Brandon Anderson before PC was called for holding.
The down was first and ten and Anderson gained five yards before going down. The
Cougars then called on Derrick Burks, who reached the twenty-three yardline for
a three-yard gain. Another pass was attempted and completed from quarterback
Britt Shumate to "Super Sophomore" Ernie Hodge for a well-needed first
down and a gain of 24 yards. Derrick Burks then
tried to shake the defense but failed, reaching only the forty-six yardline
before getting nailed. Anderson then tried to do it, but was blitzed and got
nothing. Afterward, Britt Shumate tried a quarterback sneak but was also nailed,
getting only one yard. With the down fourth and eight, the Cougars were again
forced to punt, which again bounced out of bounds. After a run to the
forty-nine, the Cougar defense again boosted themselves and managed to keep
Petersburg at bay long enough for a pass to be intercepted by Steven Cobbs who
made it to the twenty-two. The Cougars tried another criss-cross with Ernie
Hodge, and he got nine yards, reaching the thirty-one. Another run by Burks up
the middle gave PC a first down, followed by Hodge getting another one directly
afterward. After another
one-yard run by Burks, Hodge yet again ran for another first down to the Crimson
Wave's forty, where he then ran to the thirty-one, letting Burks get the next
first down after that. From the twenty-seven, Brandon Anderson made it to the
eighteen, where it was second and one. He got yet another first down after that,
and then failed to receive a pass. From the sixteen, Hodge made it to the
thirteen before PC tried to pass again. Sadly, this was intercepted by the Wave
with only seconds remaining in the game, which ran out to end a nail biter of a
game afterward. “It was a good
contest,” said Petersburg Head Coach Remus James. “We had never beaten
Pulaski County, and we wanted to change that. We can’t go 10-0 without going
1-0. I played against Hicks as a player and he has a fine program,” he added. “The first thing
to say, thanks to Pulaski for giving us their talents. Now we’re 1-0,” said
Petersburg quarterback Darryl Drayton. Petersburg Wide
Receiver Jonathan Pulley was asked about his teamwork with Drayton. “Perfect.
We connected,” he replied. Coach Joel Hicks
also had some words to add. "I'm not going to lie," he said, "I'm
mad. But I'm also gonna say that we did a lot better than last week, a lot
better. I talked with the doctors, and they said that Jeremy Porter would be out
for maybe four weeks, but knowing him it's gonna be less than that." With those final thoughts in mind, this writer would like to wish good luck to the Cougars in the remainder of the season and especially in the game next week against the Christiansburg Blue Demons at Christiansburg.
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