From The Bleachers 2002: Week Two by Ardent Cougar
Series:
PC leads 5-0.
The Crimson Wave came back from a 3-7 season in 2000, to go 6-4 with a playoff appearance, in 2001. What a difference a year makes. If you were in Dobson Stadium last week, it was hard to watch a team that last year set a school record for points scored in a season, get only 7 against the same team it had mercifully put up only 59 against, just 12 months before. Of course, a lot of things are different now. Players graduate, leaving high school and high school football behind. You wish they could play forever, but they can't. Maybe they go on to college, and play for a team you like. Maybe they even go on to the pros. Maybe they never play football again. Only one thing is for certain - change. With all due and full respect to the Tazewell Bulldogs for their well earned victory last week, it is obvious that from our end of things, this young team of ours needs more time and work. During the halftime break, a certain former player was having some sympathy pains for the young men in that lockerroom, who were no doubt not quite being serenaded with sweet, relaxing music. To them it probably sounded more like a jackhammer, at point blank range. Someone else remarked, "those kids are learning what Cougar Football is all about!" When you have had the success that Pulaski County has had in the previous 23 years under Coach Hicks, you tend to get spoiled. 17 playoff appearances, 15 District Championships, 6 Region Championships, and a State Championship, will do that to you. With all of the frustrations we had as fans last week (yes, the tackling WAS awful), there is something we need to keep in mind. These are not professional players. These are not even away-from-home, college age adults. This is especially true for this year's edition. These are kids. Teenagers. The future of Pulaski County. Football is big around here, and always has been. These young men have a lot put upon them. The flip side to the good things about having a winning tradition is, the pressure to not lose. With the kinds of crowds the Cougars routinely draw, these players are constantly under the microscope. You can have continuity in a coaching staff, like we have had, like Salem under Willis White has had, like Blacksburg under David Crist has had, and like Northside under Jim Hickam has had. One thing you do not have certainty of continuity in is - talent level, and coachability. Sometimes you get kids that have talent, but also have bad attitudes. Sometimes you have kids who give it absolutely all they have, but just don't possess all of the physical attributes needed. The things that bother me most are lack of effort, and absence of thought. Giving up, and making dumb plays. Those are things that can definitely be improved, no matter what level of talent we are talking about. If it is simply a lack of talent, or being caught early in the learning phases, it is frustrating to watch, but a lot more understandable. I don't know how the rest of this season is going to go. It could get rough, and stay rough. Or, it could gradually get better, as youth gains experience. This Friday night, we will know a little more. There
are times you need a good splash of cold water in your face, to awaken
you from daydreaming. Maybe that is what happened last week.
For the first time since 1997, the Cougars start out 0-1. No doubt keeping last year's embarrassing 59-7 home loss in mind, Tazewell marched into Dobson Stadium, and got revenge. QB Carr Blankenship hooked up with J. R. Wilson for an 82-yard TD, and scored one on his own. Carr's scrambling abilities frustrated the defense all evening. Blankenship averaged over 12 yards per carry, amassing 138 yards on the ground, and passing for 112. Mark Muncey added the final 7 points with under 2 minutes left in the game, and the Bulldogs stunned the home crowd with a 21-7 win. Tazewell never trailed, and was up 14-0 late in the first half. Derrick Burks broke one for a 58-yard score before the break, getting the Cougars on the board. However, they would get no closer. A big difference in this game was the turnover factor - 2 for PC, none for the Bulldogs. Tazewell had 372 total yards against the Cougars' 164. The line blocking for PC was not too effective, and defensively, the tackling technique left something to be desired. The Bulldogs, who have many back from last year's team, showed that they are a far cry from 2001's 3-7 squad. The Cougars on the other hand have a very young team, with only 2 players in starting positions returning from last year, leaving at least 18 other spots for younger, less experienced players. Full Story and Interviews (Bulldogs 21, Cougars 7)
Colonels unable to go on offensive Demons romp but Titans leave happy Saunders starts Vikings rolling Spartans' rally finishes incomplete
Previous 2002 Articles: |
