The Locker Room September 28, 2002

Game Pictures by Steven Marcus

BLACKSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL- The Sun showed no mercy earlier today as the groups of people arrived at the stadium. Gradually, staffers and anxious fans sauntered in and found their respective places either in the stands, in the booths, under sponsor tents, out on the sidelines, or on the field itself. After the concessions people, the coaches showed. Then came the players followed by the referees and finally the cheerleaders.

As everyone settled into place the tension arose, as well as this writer's raccoon eyes from the shades. Both teams went into the battle with the weight of a loss the previous week on their shoulders. Although Blacksburg won the coin toss, they kept the unspoken Pulaski tradition alive by receiving first and letting the Cougars begin with their defense.

The opening kickoff was a typical John Hedge beauty, sailing straight into the endzone for a touchback. Blacksburg began what would be a rather lengthy drive by running from their own twenty yardline to the twenty-seven. Quarterback Byron Hurdle followed up with a keeper, running wide left and fumbling out of bounds, barely letting the Indians keep the ball. He tried to redeem himself next with a quarterback sneak and earned a moderate four yards. The down was now second and six on the thirty-six yardline. Hurdle launched a pass which was completed on the forty-eight for a first down. The Indians then tried to repeat the process with a long bomb that, unfortunately for them, went wide into the PC sideline and sacrificed a down for them.

They attempted to make it up with another run up the middle, but gained only two yards before Sophomore Ernie Hodge got the tackle. Hurdle dropped back after that for a pass, but failed to get it across before the Indians were nailed with illegal procedure and lost five yards. It was now third and thirteen, and Hurdle ran left very wide, barely getting the pass in before reaching the sidelines. The pass was completed on the Cougar thirty-five, where the receiver went down, courtesy of Brandon Anderson. This gave the Indians another first down, after which they got another flag for holding and lost ten yards. From the Cougar forty-five, Blacksburg came up four yards with Hodge nabbing the carrier at the forty-one. After another run which got them to the thirty-five, Hurdle went for another pass which was completed to Andrew Hodges for an interception with about 6:21 left in the opening quarter.

It was, of course, first and ten on the PC twenty-eight, and Derrick Burks christened the drive with two-yard gain. Another run by Burks gave the Cougars four more, after which another run by the same guy was finally predicted and got no gain. The down was fourth and four, so PC decided to punt. The ball went out of bounds at the thirty-six straight into the arms of a sidelined Justin "Juice" Lewis.

To kickoff Blacksburg's second drive of the game, Hurdle handed off to David Houff who ran from the thirty-six and reached the forty before getting tagged by Juice and Shaun Branscome. The Indians then tried a very long bomb but failed to connect on what would most likely have been a touchdown pass. After a one-yard gain which got them to the forty-one, Blacksburg was forced to punt. This one went straight towards the field, where Anderson let it roll until it stopped on the nineteen.

Pulaski's following drive marked the wakeup of the Indian defense. Derrick Burks first ran to the twenty, getting only one yard. Then, Britt Shumate attempted to answer the fans' proverbial call with a pass but did not connect. Next, the Cougars called on the multi-talented Ernie Hodge for a run, but lost a yard. With the down fourth and eleven, Pulaski was forced to punt. The punt went straight up, being caught on the forty-eight and tackled by Ray McClanahan. It was first and ten on the Indian forty-eight, and Blacksburg began with a long pass that surely would have scored for the Indians, had it not been tipped by Brandon Anderson. Blacksburg then ran up the middle, hoping to penetrate the PC defense at the source. It worked, and after a moment the measurement revealed a first down on forty-two. Another pass attempt was followed by another bat, this time by Derrick Burks. A run followed, reaching only the forty-one before Burks got the tackle. This marked the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter continued Blacksburg's drive, when Byron Hurdle started off by overthrowing a pass attempt. This made the down fourth and nine, however, and the Indians were again led to punting. Anderson caught the ball and made it to the PC eleven yardline. Derrick Burks ran for a three yard gain to the fourteen, where next he ran right and got a first down on the board for Pulaski. From the twenty-two, Shumate handed off to Andrew Hodges who ran for the twenty-six and went down. From there, Britt dropped back and shot out a long pass to Brandon Anderson who was tackled at the Blacksburg forty-four. The Cougars couldn't capitalize on it as they were blitzed and fumbled for an Indian recovery.

Blacksburg began this next short drive with Byron Hurdle doing a keeper to the right from the Indian forty-five and reaching the PC forty-six before Ernie Hodge tattooed him. With but one yard to be gained, the Indians were called for illegal motion and forced back to their own forty-nine. Byron Hurdle then tried a quarterback sneak but only reached the PC forty-eight before meeting his old friend Ernie Hodge and going down again. Seemingly desperate to escape Hodge, Hurdle went for another long bomb but didn't complete it. Next, with only two yards to go on fourth down, they went for the punt, which happened to be a touchback. Shumate began PC's drive with a pitch right to the seemingly all-purpose Brandon Anderson. Anderson took it and ran for the twenty-eight for a decent eight-yard gain to add to his resume. They then gave the ball to Andrew Hodges but lost a yard for all their trouble. From the twenty-seven, Anderson caught a great pass from Shumate and then ran to the thirty-six for the well-deserved and needed first down.

The down was now first and ten on the Indian thirty-six yardline, and once again Derrick Burks was called to the front line, gaining one yard before being nabbed by Blacksburg's Sam Wheeler. A long pass to Anderson followed but was dropped. The Indians then went straight for Britt Shumate. With the pressure of at least three Indians gunning for him, he threw a bad pass that fell drastically short just before he was hit and briefly winded. The fourth down called again for a punt to Blacksburg's Shane Bennet. Braxton Cox got the tackle on the twenty-five. From there, Blacksburg's carrier (this writer failed to get his name) ran straight into Ernie Hodge for a one-yard gain. Directly afterward from their own twenty-six, Blacksburg actually overshot the snap, leading Hurdle back to the five to get the ball and only reaching the six yardline before getting snagged by his friend Ernie Hodge.

With the down second and twenty-nine from the six, the Indians ran left a little for four yards to put under their belt. After some decent defensive pressure by the Cougars stopped a pass, the Indians were again called to punt. Anderson caught the ball, but then saw two Indians coming at him like freight trains. He simply stepped right a couple feet, let them hit the sidelines on their own, and then managed to claim the forty-five yardline. Anderson then ran again and made it only to the forty-six. The Cougars then went for a long pass from Shumate to Matt Tilley, but failed to connect. They repeated the process, throwing long to Anderson who again was covered too much and dropped it. John Hedge was then called onto the field for the punt. The ball sailed straight to the endzone and would have been a touchback. However, this ball was the target of the very talented Steven Cobbs, who batted it at the last second, making it land on the Blacksburg one yardline.

This put the someday-to-be Bruins at a very non-preferable position, to say the very least. With 99 yards to go Byron Hurdle decided to take matters into his own hands, running right for only a two-yard gain before meeting fellow quarterback Britt Shumate. After a timeout, the Indians ran up the middle again for a solitary three-yard gain, getting nabbed by Cory Bentley. After another timeout, they ran the same path and got even less, running right into a waiting Matt Tilley for only a two-yard gain. The down was now fourth and two, and the Indians decided to punt rather than go for it. The ball reached the forty-eight and then landed out of bounds. After a run by Andrew Hodges that lost the Cougars a yard, the clock ran out for the end of a non-scoring yet very exciting first half. It was what was to come that was the best of times and the worst of times. The former was for the Indians, and the latter was for the Cougars.

The opening kickoff from Blacksburg to Pulaski was a beauty, flying straight into the waiting arms of Steven Cobbs who ran to the twenty-five before going down. Brandon Anderson then followed in Cobbs' footsteps by going straight for the thirty-eight, courtesy of some of the best blocking by PC that this writer has seen this season. The down was second and one, and Derrick Burks had only to trip to get the first down. He did, and the Cougars got the first down on the thirty-nine. Brandon Anderson then tried to duplicate his recent runs, but failed to shake the defense, running wide left and gaining a moderate six yards. A flag for illegal procedure lost the Cougars five, and PC was pressed to pass. So, Shumate passed the ball again to Anderson, who again was covered too thoroughly and dropped it. Forced to punt on the fourth down, the Cougars failed to escape the defense. The punt was tipped and landed on the PC forty-three.

Blacksburg really woke up in the plays to come, getting a first down on the Cougar thirty-nine and gaining five yards directly afterward. Pulaski was called for a facemask, which pushed the Indians up five yards to the twenty-five for a first down. After yet another flag on the Cougars, Blacksburg sauntered up to the eleven. Blacksburg then proceeded to gain revenge for their loss to the Cougars last season by scoring the first touchdown of the game followed by a successful extra point, putting the future Bruins on the board 7-0 with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter.

The following kickoff went out of bounds at around the thirty-five yardline. From there, Brandon Anderson went left but lost a yard. After that, Shumate gave the ball to Ernie Hodge who completely absorbed one hit from an Indian and then proceeded to the thirty-eight before getting snagged by more of them. A six-yard gain that followed failed to assist the Cougars in getting a first down, so they were once gain called to punt. John Harmon caught up with the ball in the air and caught it on the seven, making the down first and ten on Blacksburg's own seven yardline. **NOTE** At about this time, this writer got harassed by about three wasps who wouldn't leave me alone until Blacksburg had reached the twenty-six, was on fourth down, and was forced to punt. This writer failed to catch any information before this. Blacksburg made their punt to the PC twenty-three yardline, where an illegal procedure penalty on the Indians boosted the Cougars fifteen yards.

Brandon Anderson ran up the middle afterward, and reached the forty-eight before getting hit hard and staying down a few seconds. He had to be helped up by his fellow players, but once up was able to walk on his own. After a one-yard gain, Anderson reached the Blacksburg forty-four just in time for the third quarter to end. The final quarter began with PC holding the ball. The down was fourth and five, and Pulaski decided to punt. John Hedge nailed the ball, sending it forty-four yards straight into the endzone for another touchback. Immediately, the Indians ran eleven yards and gave themselves a first down. They gained four yards, and then lost seventeen courtesy of a holding penalty. Sam Wheeler, from the twenty-three, managed to get only two yards before Ernie Hodge and Justin Lewis gave him their special hello.

With the down third and sixteen, however, the previous tackle proved void as a 75-yard pass was completed for another touchdown and successful extra point. This brought the score up to 14-0 in Blacksburg's favor with 9:07 left in the game. The Indians then kicked off to Brandon Anderson who managed to reach the twenty-five. A short pass followed, which was complete to Matt Tilley for a five yard gain, but those yards were immediately lost when Britt Shumate was sacked and pushed back to the twenty-five. The down being fourth and nine, Pulaski punted out of bounds at the thirty-nine. A foul on PC followed and gave Blacksburg 15 yards. Blacksburg wasted no time, gaining seven yards in the next two plays until Sam Wheeler crumbled under the pressure, losing a yard and making the down fourth and four.

With that in mind, the Indians punted again, which rolled to the eighteen. Pulaski tried to at least put themselves on the board with an long bomb, but rather than completing it the Indians intercepted it on the PC twenty-six. The Cougar defense woke up a little in the following play, restricting the Indians to a gain of only one yard. However, a six-yard gain and a first down followed. A flag by PC gained Blacksburg eight yards before an incomplete pass sacrificed the down. The down was third and seven, and Blacksburg unfortunately scored a third touchdown with only 57 seconds left in the game. The extra point was blocked by Shaun Branscome, keeping the score at 20-0. After a timeout, John Harmon received the kickoff and got bullrushed. After a three-yard loss, the clock ran out, ending a very disappointing Cougar game and a very outstanding Blacksburg game. This editor sends his prayers out to the team, in hopes that they bring out their best against Salem next week in Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.

Game Pictures by Steven Marcus