From The Bleachers 2002: Week Ten by Ardent Cougar
Series:
PC
leads 13-8.
Region
III District Standings
I am in my fourth year writing for cougarfootball.net. During that span, the Cougars have played 46 games, winning 33 of those contests. Among those victories, some stand out more than others. Breaking Salem's 29-game winning streak, at their place. Doing the same to Culpeper's 25-game roll. Obliterating Patrick Henry in the battle of late season undefeateds. Crushing Salem in the only playoff matchup of the series, which was quite fittingly a Region Final. Traveling to William Byrd and setting a team record for points scored in a game, on a night that was supposed to see a great battle for the Blue Ridge District title. Homecoming last year against Lord Botetourt, when Josh Calfee went over 4,000 career yards, and Joel Hicks got his 200th win as the Cougars' Head Coach. Also to be included is the game against Byrd this year, just two games ago, where Hicks won his 300th career victory. But there is one triumph, more than any of those I listed, that is the most special to me. The 1999 team was plagued by a tough schedule, various and plentiful injuries, and (charitably put) bad officiating. After a 22-13 loss to Patrick Henry, in which Calfee was unable to play the second half, the Cougars were not only out of contention for the Roanoke Valley District Championship, and out of luck as far as a playoff berth went, but were also stuck with a 4-5 record, having to face Cave Spring for Homecoming in Dobson Stadium. The Knights were trying to go undefeated in RVD play, thus winning the title outright. The banged up Cougars, who I thought ought to have had ambulances painted on their helmets that season, had nothing at stake but -- pride. For his first 20 years at Pulaski County, Joel Hicks did not suffer a losing season. That streak was in serious jeopardy. Joel decided to try Frank Cobbs at fullback. Frank was still wearing a shoulder restraint, which he wore it a bit looser that night. The move worked like a charm. Cobbs ran for 115 yards, and scored twice, one TD coming on a bomb from QB Travis Roop, who played a great game on his final night in a Cougar uniform. The game reached a critical point in the 4th Quarter, when the Knights, up by 7, brushed aside a chip shot field goal on 4th down at the Cougar 1, and went for the big kill. The Cougar D stopped the QB sneak, then the offense drove the length of the field to tie the game at 28-all with a Josh Calfee run. Not long afterward, the game clock read all zeros. In overtime, DeWayne Burks (older brother of Derrick) made the hit on Michael Hamlar at the 1, and Jesse Rakes picked up the loose ball, stopping the two point conversion. Cougars 35, Knights 34. I have never felt any prouder to be a Cougar Football Fan, than at that moment. I wrote the story for that game, with a lot of input from Jeff Wolfe. We stayed up until sunrise the next morning, writing things, changing them, rewording them, until he just had to get a little bit of sleep, as he had to go to work in a few hours. I pressed on, finished the story, then went home to get ready to ride to WVU with a friend, as the No. 3 ranked Hokies traveled to Morgantown. I finally got some sleep in the car on the way up, as he drove. That game had another wild finish, where the Mountaineers scored twice in the last 5 minutes or so, to take a 1 point lead. Tech drove down the field with no timeouts left, led by Michael Vick's scramble down the right sideline, which had to be the play of the year in college football, at least during the regular season. A pass completion and a grounding of the ball after that run, and it was up to a Cougar - Shayne Graham. There were only 5 seonds left. Right down the middle. Hokies 22, Mountaineers 20. Virginia Tech was still in the hunt for a National Championship. What a weekend for Cougar Football. As far as I have been made aware, if we pull off the upset over the Vikings, it is still possible to make the playoffs, if certain other games go right. We might not know until next week's games are done. Whether or not the Cougars get to play past Friday, even if they end up 5-5, I am proud of this team, which looked dead in the water after the Blacksburg game. These young men have come back strong, and will be back even stronger next year. I am looking at this regular season ending Homecoming Game, first and foremost, as a matter of:
Newspaper Articles on Northside's games: Titans grab 1st win in school history (scroll down for Northside-Alleghany) Saunders, Vikings run away from Byrd Vikings' Pooh a bear for Cavaliers Vikes swipe win from Minutemen Saunders starts Vikings rolling
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The rain which began in earnest just before the opening kickoff, did little to slow down the Cougars. With the Mountaineers obviously keying on Derrick Burks, who fell a mere 2 yards short of the 1,000 mark for the season, it was showtime for Brandon Anderson. Anderson gained 184 yards, and scored 3 times. Derrick added the other TD. John Hedge kicked a 38 yard field goal. Once again, winning the battle of turnovers and owning the clock paid off. PC had possession almost 11 minutes longer than Alleghany. The field was very muddy in spots, making any offensive gains worth even more. The defense held the home team to fewer than 100 yards total, while the Cougar O gained almost 275 yards, averaging over 6 yards per play. Compare that to Alleghany's fewer than 3 yards for every snap from center. For the first time in 2002, PC did not throw a pass. On this night the Cougars did not need to, and of course the weather conditions were not at all suitable for an offense which does not often throw the ball. One final note: Congratulations to Derrick, who was named the Friday Football Extra Player Of The Week, for his super performance against William Byrd! (Read last week's FFE script, down near the bottom of the page.)
Full Story and Interviews (Cougars Maul Mountaineers) Highfill lifts Terriers over Lord Botetourt (Scroll down for our game)
Indians' big fellas have all the fun Colonels get down and dirty in win Highfill
lifts Terriers over Lord Botetourt
Previous 2002 Articles: FTB
Week One - Tazewell
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