cougarfootball.net - The Locker Room

CAVALIER STADIUM-- The stands, the field, and the sidelines were all alive with activity, as is always before a game. Eager fans from both sides talked of the week's happenings and made sketchy predictions on the forthcoming contest. Groupies gathered at the entrances to the home and away locker rooms, jamming to the beat of "We Will Rock You" and "Tequila" as they blared from the speakers. Clouds gathered as well, seemingly wondering whether or not to rain on the entire scene.

However, beneath the lively atmosphere lurked a vague uneasiness felt by some. This was to be, after all, a game between teams that each had two wins and four losses. It perhaps could be viewed as sort of a chess match between Lord Botetourt's Keith Robinson and Pulaski County's Joel Hicks, in which he who positioned his pieces more efficiently and psyched out his adversary more thoroughly would prevail.

After an outstanding rendition of "A Gangsta's Chronicle" by the Golden Cougar Marching Band and the playing of the National Anthem by Lord Botetourt's band, it was finally time for the games to begin.

Pulaski County decently surprised their fans by winning the coin toss as usual, but then instead of deferring as usual, receiving first.

The opening kickoff was a beauty, picked up by Brandon Anderson who ran it up to the thirty-seven but got nailed for illegal blocking which pushed PC back to the twenty-five yardline to consecrate the night's events.

This was the beginning of what would be a very long drive by Pulaski. Ironically, it was started by a very short one-yard gain before Anderson got the handoff on the next play and then ran up the middle to the Cavalier forty-six. Derrick Burks then came into the fray, earning himself as well as the team six more yards. A following three-yard gain got the Cougars the first down, and a couple more short runs by Burks got them to the thirty-one on the third down. With a long eight yards to go, Anderson boosted the drive by reaching the twenty-five and leaving only one yard yet to be gained. Anderson again got the ball next and saved the drive with a five-yard climb and the first down on the twenty-four yardline. From there, Derrick came in and got five yards behind him and directly afterward gained two more. The down was now third and three. Burks wasted no time in going straight up throughout the middle inside the fifteen for a first down.

However, his previous gain didn't hold a candle to some of his late ones, the next of which, from the fifteen yardline, got the Cougars the first touchdown of the game. After that, a beautiful extra point by all-star kicker John Hedge was put under the belt with 4:49 remaining in the commencing quarter.

The kickoff to Lord Botetourt was nabbed by the Cavaliers' Cris Edmonds. Edmonds only managed to claim the fifteen yardline before linebacker Dana Clark literally knocked his legs out from under him and sent him flying to the ground. This would begin a sort of "torture time" for Edmonds, as on the very next play the poor wide receiver caught a short pass and ran head-on into a flying Steven Cobbs, slamming Edmonds in the gut and tattooing him to the field before he even had time to look surprised. Personally, it hurt this writer just looking at it from the top row of the away stands. After everyone recovered from the backlash of such a wallop, Quarterback Eric Driscoll threw an incomplete pass for an obvious no-gainer.

The down was now third and four on the Cavalier twenty-one yardline. Driscoll repeated the attempt and connected it to the receiver (this writer failed to get the name) who was pushed out of bounds at the thirty-seven by Burks. This did get a first down, however, and with the drive re-fueled had time for another pass, completed to wide receiver Joe Park who was nagged by Andrew Hodges. After that, linemen Kelly Stoots and Matt Tilley took back six yards from Botetourt the fun way, playing the age-old game of "kill the guy with the ball." This successful field test of the sturdy defensive line made the down second and a distant sixteen. From their own fifteen, Lord Botetourt attempted two passes in a row, the second of which connected and claimed the Cougar's thirty-one yardline for the first down. Driscoll failed to find an open receiver and ran the next play to the twenty-one yardline. Next, he found an open receiver in Cris Edmonds and pitched right for him, allowing Cris to gain the first down at the seventeen before going down at the hands of lineman Cory Bentley.

After a short one-yard gain, the Cavaliers completed another long pass and were assisted by a foul on PC that landed them on the nine yardline for an automatic first down. Driscoll tried another pass, one that surely would've scored for them, had it not been blocked my Derrick Burks. They went for another pass to Edmonds, but Burks batted it again. Finally, they passed to a waiting wide receiver named Michael Byrd who ran it in for the touchdown, putting the Cavaliers up on the board along with an extra point 7-7 with exactly one minute remaining in the first quarter.

The Cougar fans were, as always, decently psyched for the battle, but what happened next got them absolutely fired and it didn't even occur on the field. Three Cavalier extremists looking for a disturbance amongst the Pulaski fans ran the track on the sidelines straight for the Cougar cheerleaders wearing downright ridiculous headgear that consisted partially of stuffed animals. However, they retreated after one of them was headlocked, taken down, piledriven, and noogied by none other than the Cougar Mascot himself. For a very accurate picture of the cougar attack, refer to the "View from the Stands" by Ardent Cougar.

Meanwhile, back on the gridiron, Lord Botetourt kicked off to the Cougars, who this time enlisted Steven Cobbs to grab the ball from the air. He did, and ran for the twenty-seven yardline before going down. This marked the end of a great opening quarter for the Cougars.

Brandon Anderson picked up where Cobbs left off, gaining four more yards and reaching the thirty-one. However, he lost a yard on the next play, making the down second and eleven on the forty-eight. This did not hinder Pulaski at all, though, as Quarterback Britt Shumate completed a rather long bomb to Ernie Hodge, who reached the Cavalier nineteen. From there, Burks managed to claim the ten yardline and afterward, the seven. Another four-yard gain followed, and then Derrick made it another two yards to the one yardline. Everything pointed to a touchdown on the horizon, but a quarterback sack lost the Cougars five yards and prevented it. This called for a timeout. After Hicks was done with the impromptu planning, the Cougars called on John Hedge for a field goal. With 7:39 remaining in the second quarter, John nailed it and made the score 10-7.

Pulaski kicked off next to their favorite target, Cris Edmonds. Cris scrambled for a second, but then realized he was smack-dab in the endzone so he stopped because they had a touchback. An eight-yard pass followed, and then the small but surprisingly powerful Steven Cobbs pushed them back four yards. A pass attempt followed only to be batted by the 6'3" 336 lb. Justin "Juice" Lewis. The down was now fourth and seven, so the Cavaliers had to punt in order to save their hides.

The punt sailed through the foggy evening air and landed in the waiting arms of the all-purpose Brandon Anderson. Anderson juked his way to the forty-three, but then went down and fumbled, immediately scrambling to recover the ball. To begin Pulaski's next drive, Anderson successfully redeemed himself by sprinting up the defense's noses and gaining nine yards right off the bat. Burks followed up with eight more yards and the first down. The next three plays got him nine more, and on the forth down Andrew Hodges reached the thirty for another well-needed first down. From there, Burks got another consecutive first down, running straight to the nineteen yardline. Anderson picked up from there to climb to the six before Derrick Burks got in another touchdown for the Cougars with John Hedge's extra point to kick the board up a notch to 17-7 with a solitary twenty-nine seconds left in the half.

The kickoff to Botetourt's third possession screamed across the field, finally reaching another one of many Cavalier wide receivers, Steven Hinton. Hinton was down at the twenty-five, after which Driscoll knelt down and ran out the clock for the end of an outstanding first half.

The second half was one not to be overlooked by anyone. Early in the half (this writer can't remember when so he's clearing it up now), a new ruling was announced that states that a player's shirt must, at least partly, be tucked in.

The opening kickoff was--again--straight to Edmonds. Also again, he caught it in the endzone for a touchback. Eric Driscoll began the half by attempting a long pass that was caught but dropped. After that, a foreshadowing preview saw the Cougars nailing Driscoll for a sack. This writer was unable to catch the names of all who got him. What he does know is that it cost Botetourt a tidy five yards. Another long bomb attempt landed out-of-bounds, and finally they ended their worst drive yet (negative five yards) with the punt.

The following PC drive was relatively short. First off, Anderson ran back the punt all the way up top the forty-six yardline. Then, a short gain gave them the forty-nine. Finally, Britt Shumate heaved a pass to Derrick Burks for another touchdown, this one fifty-one yards including the pass. With another inevitably successful extra point by the extremely talented John Hedge, the score went up to 24-7 with 10:04 remaining in the third quarter.

As usual, the following kickoff to Lord Botetourt landed in the endzone for a touchback. Driscoll began with--surprise--a pass, which was completed to the thirty-one for a first down. Another one of his incomplete passes followed, and then finally another connected, landing the ball on the forty-five before Steven Cobbs busted up he receiver again. Michael Byrd came into play for the Cavaliers next, catching another pass on the Cougar thirty-nine. They were then penalized because the carrier was trying to get Derrick Burks (who was trying to take him down) fouled by untucking his shirt. This caused them to be pushed back to their own forty-five yardline. From their new field position, Eric Driscoll was almost sacked but passed to Michael Byrd at the last second, who caught it on the thirty-six before going out-of-bounds. After a timeout, Botetourt again passed and again it was completed, but this time they were nailed for offensive holding and the pass was ruled incomplete. With that, the Cavaliers had to punt.

Brandon Anderson caught the ball and took a knee for a fair catch, but a cavalier hit him anyway and gave his team another flag. This put the Cougars on first and ten at the thirty-four yardline. Burks got three yards to the forty-seven, and then Anderson carried it to the forty-one for four more. Burks got in one more yard before the Cougars got stuck on forth down and had to punt.

Botetourt's receivers were getting kind of slippery in the hands, as the next return showed. The carrier fumbled with the ball, went back to pick it up, and went down on the ten yardline. This marked arguably the funniest drive this writer has ever seen. First, Driscoll passed to Edmonds, and then pitched to Joe Park who reached the thirty-eight. Another pass reached the receiver on the forty-five, and he went down on the forty-eight.

This is where it got good. First, Eric Driscoll couldn't find an open receiver, and got sacked by John Harmon. Then, with the down second and twenty, Driscoll got sacked AGAIN, this time by both John Harmon and Ernie Hodge. As if that wasn't enough, with the down third and thirty, Driscoll got sacked AGAIN, this time by Ernie Hodge and Justin Lewis. So, with the down fourth and forty, the Cavaliers had to punt.

The punt, for all of Botetourt's trouble, should've been a good one. Instead, it landed on the thirty-six yardline. From there, Burks got a one-yard gain and then Anderson picked up from where Burks left off. However, he lost a yard in the process, and a penalty against the Cougars made the down third and fifteen at the end of the third quarter.

The beginning of the fourth quarter marked the oncoming end of the game. There was not as much pressure on either team, but it had its moments. It began with an incomplete pitch to Anderson, and followed up with a classic John Hedge punt that went down out-of-bounds at the thirty-one yardline. Unfortunately, the Cougars were called for a facemask. With the down first and ten on the forty-one, Lord Botetourt wasted no time, gaining six yards straight off. Matt Tilley batted the following pass attempt, and then a no-gainer forced Driscoll to try another pass. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the pass was completed, fumbled, and recovered by none other than Steven Cobbs.

Derrick Burks began this next Cougar drive, scrambling his way from the twenty-nine to the thirty-six for a seven-yard gain. After a first down, Pulaski got fouled for illegal procedure and lost five yards off the first down, making it first and fifteen. Anderson did his best to regain the yardage with a run of four, followed by Derrick Burks gaining six more. The down was now third and five. Anderson caught the handoff from Shumate but could not find an opening in the line and was forced deep right and only gained one yard. With that, they again had to punt to the Cavaliers.

John Hedge and his kicking ability shine normally, and this was no exception. Hedge sailed the ball clear through the cool night air and down to the seventeen yardline. This did not do wonders for Lord Botetourt's field position. From the seventeen, they gained one yard. After that, Driscoll attempted another pass that went short.

Then as he hadn't taken enough punishment, Justin Lewis took seven yards from Botetourt by again sacking his third-quarter seat cushion, Eric Driscoll. When asked his thoughts on the large number of sacks in the game, Juice had this to say. "I'm tired and I'm hurting. But we did what Coach told us to do, which was to fight down the line best we could."

With the down fourth and eighteen thanks to Juice, Lord Botetourt could do two things, one of which was absolutely nothing. The other was punt. With those options, they punted.

The punt was down on the thirty-five yardline, where Derrick Burks added five yards to the books. He ran again after that, and got one more for his trouble. Brandon Anderson took over from there, gaining twelve yards in two plays. After the first down he got, the Cougars had claimed the Cavalier forty-nine. However, they were immediately called for illegal procedure and had to move back to their own forty-six. It didn't punish PC much, though, as Burks squeezed out all he had left and got two more yards. After that, a carry by Brandon Anderson gained one yard with about 45 seconds left in the game.

By this time, approximately one-quarter of the Cougar fans had left, assuming they'd seen all the major plays. After all, the down was fourth and five with less than a minute remaining.

The Cougars decided to punt, so John Hedge was again called out onto the gridiron. However, a weird snap caused John to fumble with the ball, giving more time for the defense to reach him. Rather than turning away and giving in, however, he proceeded to do something no one suspected: he ran the ball down the left sideline to the forty-nine and got the last first down of the game. "Britt snapped it over my head," Hedge said, "I haven't run since ninth grade, so it felt really good. I saw them coming and just went ahead out of bounds because I knew everyone would be upset if I got hurt."