Full
Story and Interviews
BLUEFIELD
- At this game, before the season even began, the feel, the essence, the vibe or
whatever you want to call it of the Pulaski County High School football games
started to emerge. Long trips to
the stadium, walking around and trying to find a good seat, checking out the
prices of the snacks and drinks, and saying "hi" to old friends were
all an essential part of the pre-game festivities. The
cheerleaders were also present for the first time this year, but that's another
story... **Ahem**
ANYWAY, as the scrimmage got under way, Graham started out with
possession of the ball. From the thirty-five yard line, they gave our boys something
to set their sights on by gaining fifteen yards and a first down on the first
play. This put them in a nice,
round situation right on the fifty. With
that, the G-Men unleashed the first incomplete pass of the game.
After that, the Cougar Defense seemed to give themselves a wake-up call
from last season. The way the Cougar offense was present at last week's
scrimmage against GW, it seemed that the defense would be just as prominent at
this one. Graham's "one-man
show" number 2 Ahmad Bradshaw
made only five yards before he was bullrushed and stopped dead.
A five-yard pass with a similar outcome at the hands of Brandon Anderson
landed the G-Men a second first down. From
the Cougars' thirty-four, they, or shall this writer say, Bradshaw, ran a wide
left for another hefty gain, this one of seven yards.
After that, however, on the twenty-seven yard line, the Cougar defense
really got in the game. First, they
prevented the G-Men from gaining anything.
Then, with the down third and three, they pushed Graham back a yard.
Finally, they bulldozed the offense again for another no-gainer.
Thus came time for the Cougars to take possession. Derrick
Burks, now number one, immediately made his presence known by running through
the middle straight up the G-Men's noses for a gain of four.
From their own thirty-one, they then handed the ball off to Brandon
Anderson (not "Bryan" as the announcer so ignorantly stated for the
majority of the game) ran left all the way around the defense for a fifteen-yard
first down. After a short gain by
Burks, Anderson tried running around the Graham defense again.
They, however, were ready for him this time and stopped him at the Graham
forty-seven yard line. Burks saved
the drive and got the first down on the next play, making it to the forty-two
for a moderate five-yard gain. A
short gain followed (this writer is sorry to say he failed to get the carrier's
name). With the down second and
nine, Quarterback Britt Shumate and Derrick Burks worked together to fake out
the G-Men as well as this writer, reaching the twenty-nine yard line untouched
for a twelve yard gain and another first down.
After another anonymous gain (this time of three yards), the Cougars were
forced back five yards as result of an illegal motion.
From the thirty-one with the down third and twelve, Anderson tried to
gain it back but only made it to the twenty-six yard line before going down.
After getting pushed back another yard, Britt Shumate tried a long pass.
It surely would have gotten the Cougars a touchdown but failed to
connect. With
the ball fresh in their hands at their own twenty-two, Graham made a show of
gaining nine yards right off the bat before Cougar lineman S.G. Brown got the
tackle. Brandon Anderson then
prevented any gain whatsoever. However,
Bradshaw got the best of them on the next play, running left for the first down
before getting slammed by one of the newcomers to the Cougar varsity roster,
defensive back Ryan Dean. From
Pulaski's forty-nine, Graham tried a long pass that went all the way to the
twenty-yard line--incomplete. After
that, Bradshaw got in one last nine-yarder before the clock for the first
quarter ran out. Graham
started the second half of the first half with a four-yard gain.
Things got a little more interesting after that when Derrick Burks
totally fouled up a pass. The next pass, however, was completed at the twenty-eight
yard line which caused a first down on the next play from the twenty-eight to
the nineteen. Another no-gainer
followed, courtesy of a Cougar sack. This
writer isn't sure, but it may have been at the hands of returning defensive
lineman Shaun Branscome. Whoever it
was, that quarterback was popped like a zit.
Bradshaw went down after a nine-yard gain at the hands of Ernie Hodge,
now number six. After a time-out,
Bradshaw got three more yards under his belt for the first down.
Graham tried a quarterback keeper next, but Ernie Hodge made his presence
known again by stopping him after only three yards.
The down was now second and seven on the four yard line.
This time, the Cougar defense only allowed one yard to be gained. With the down third and three, however, the G-Men were able
to score the first touchdown of the game (or scrimmage or whatever) followed by
an unsuccessful extra point attempt. Brandon
Anderson batted the ball, causing it to fly right into the goalpost, after which
he caught it himself. This made the
score six to nothing in Graham's favor with 8:39 remaining in the half. With
the ball again in their hands, the Cougars handed off to Burks first thing, who
ran it up the middle for a minor two-yard gain.
On the next play, the G-Men were again ready for Burks, this time
clobbering him after he got only one yard.
It was Ernie Hodge who saved the drive by nabbing seven yards and getting
a first down directly afterwards. Next,
Shumate handed the ball off to Anderson who ran it left for three more yards.
Ernie Hodge took the ball on the play after that and snuck to the Graham
forty-seven, making the down third and one.
Derrick Burks took it from there for the next two plays, not gaining
anything at first but then making it to the forty-five for a well-needed first
down. Brandon Anderson surfaced
once again and carried it to the thirty-nine for a decent six-yards before
getting dogpiled. He finished it
off on the next play by getting four more yards and reaching the thirty-five. Derrick Burks tried to duplicate the maneuver but was
prepared for and gained only two yards. Anderson
was even more prepared for on the next carry and lost six yards.
After that, quarterback Britt Shumate tried taking matters into his own
hands with a quarterback keeper but instead lost another yard.
This made the down forth and fifteen on the forty yard line.
Rather than punting, the Cougars tried a long bomb pass but it went
incomplete and they turned the ball over to the G-Men with only minutes
remaining in the half. A
five-yard gain was halted by defensive back Ryan Dean and lineman Matt Tilley.
After a time-out, Pulaski was flagged for a facemask.
An incomplete followed as the buzzer sounded to mark the start of
halftime. Halftime
helped get the football season feeling back into the system of this writer.
Walking around, he saw the usual blend of adults and PCHS students in
attendance and sampled the refreshments. Soon,
however, the halftime clock dwindled down and this writer took his seat again as
the two teams came back from the locker rooms to begin the second half. Since
the G-Men began the game with the ball, the beginning of the second half saw the
Cougars start with possession. Brandon
Anderson knocked everyone back into reality with an eleven yarder straight off.
He then followed up with a five-yard run and then another five yarder for
another first down. An anonymous
two-yard loss came after that but was immediately made up for when Anderson
reached the forty-seven for two more yards.
Shumate launched a long pass that would have landed the Cougars a
position at the twenty, had it connected. Sadly,
it didn't. With the down forth and
a long ten on the thirty-seven, the Cougars decided leave it to kicker Jamie
Stegar to punt. It sailed into the
end zone for a touchback. Ahmad
Bradshaw got the G-men a first down right away but was dogpiled immediately
afterward. On the bright side of
things, this drive signaled another wake-up call for the Cougar defense, as they
were a lot more active. The crowd
could almost hear the shakiness in the Graham quarterback's voice.
After another first down, Bradshaw failed to gain anything courtesy of
Steven Cobbs. A long pass attempt
was covered by Matt Tilley and Ernie Hodge.
Needless to say, it failed to connect.
Next, the G-Men pitched right to the thirty-yard line but Pulaski was
flagged as the carrier went down. The
down was now third and six on the forty-four.
With that in mind, Graham decided to pass.
A long pass it was, too. It would have, in fact, been a touchdown pass if
it had been completed. With the
down forth and six on the forty-four yard line, the G-Men decided to punt but
instead were blocked (possibly by Branscome) and the ball went down at the
forty-three, where Pulaski began their next drive. Brandon
Anderson kicked things off by carrying the ball first, but the G-Men were
waiting for him and knocked him back a yard.
An anonymous carrier followed up with a fumble that PC recovered,
fortunately. A flag for what
appeared to be unsportsman-like conduct forced the Cougars back to their own
forty-nine yard line. With the down
third and a long twenty, Derrick Burks evaded the Graham defense and made it
thirteen yards to the Graham forty-six. This,
however, fell tragically short of what was needed and the Cougars had to punt.
Jamie Stegar showed the G-Men what he was made of by launching the ball
all the way to the thirteen-yard line, where the Graham receiver was bulldozed
and dogpiled to the ground. Again,
the Cougar defense left their mark in this next drive. After a nine-yarder that was stopped by Anderson and a long
first down to the forty-five, the G-Men were stopped by S.G. Brown and a
newcomer, number thirty-three, a junior linebacker named Frank Baldwin.
Directly afterward, a well-needed quarterback sack was delivered by
another newcomer, number seventy, a junior lineman named Kasey McCambridge.
Kasey mercilessly pounded the unfortunate quarterback like a train wreck,
knocking the G-Men back eight yards. Sadly,
with the down third and fifteen on the thirty-nine, Pulaski was flagged, which
caused another not-so-well-needed Graham first down. A completed pass netted them three more yards before the
Cougars were flagged again, causing the G-Men to calmly waltz to the twenty-two
yard line. Next, however, Steven
Cobbs left his mark, literally knocking Graham back to the twenty-nine yard
line. This made the down second and
seventeen. A pitiful three-yard
gain followed just as the clock for the third quarter went down and out. The
final quarter of the game sealed the G-Men's fate.
With Ahmad Bradshaw tired and out of the game, Pulaski was raging more
than they had all night. Apparently,
the Graham quarterback was well aware of this, and unleashed a terrible pass
that, needless to say, didn't come anywhere close to the receiver.
Some say that the jumbo hit he took as soon as he threw the ball helped.
With the down forth and fourteen, the G-Men were compelled to punt.
To make matters worse for the Bluefield natives, this punt was also
blocked by the high-octane Cougar defensive line. The
Cougars practically signed the field with their following drive.
Anderson ran a short three yard gain, followed by a Burks first-down that
landed PC on the forty-three. Burks
then gained six more yards, followed by another first down, this time by Brandon
Anderson. The down was now first and ten on the thirty-two yard line.
Burks got a minor gain of two yards, and then Anderson followed up with
three more. After Anderson got
another first down for the Cougars that landed them on the twenty-yard line, he
proceeded to romp right on into the end zone for the first Cougar touchdown of
the game. After about 10 seconds of
uninterrupted celebration which included this writer and a bunch of his friends
singing the Cougar fight song, Jamie Stegar launched a seemingly laser-guided
kick for a successful extra point attempt, making the score 7-6 with 8:03
remaining in the game. Graham
tried to fight back one last time on their final drive with a first down to the
forty-seven. Ernie Hodge answered
with a punishing sack that took ten yards away from them. Directly afterward, the G-Men were nailed with a false start
that pushed them back to their own thirty-yard line. This made the down second and a very short twenty-eight.
(hehe) They failed miserably at a run and got no gain.
It was now blatant that the Cougars were back in business. Another
incomplete pass followed and made the down forth and twenty-eight.
This writer regrets to say that he didn't get the outcome of that last
play. In
any event, he consequences were predictable.
With the ball fresh in Cougar paws, Derrick Burks began their final drive
with a gain of four. From their own
forty-two, Brandon Anderson then made off with the ball all the way to Graham's
forty-eight yard line for a first down. In the next two plays, Anderson gained seven more yards.
With the down third and three on the forty-one, Brandon made a show of
juking through Graham's defensive line for a gain of five and another first
down. From the thirty-six, Ernie
Hodge carried it for seven more yards to the twenty-five.
After that, a short gain required a measurement but still revealed to be
a first down. Derrick Burks then
added a touch of his own and gained ten more yards for ANOTHER first down! With Hodge hurt temporarily, coach Turner called in another
newcomer, number thirty, junior defensive back Chad Thompson to take his place.
He lost a yard on the carry, but that was little more than an attempt of
Graham's to delay the inevitable. After
a nine-yarder by Burks and one last anonymous yard loss, the clock dwindled down
to zero and the Pulaski County Cougars emerged victorious over the Graham G-Men,
7-6. With
that, ladies and gentlemen, I, Pete Cougar, on behalf of all of us here at
cougarfootball.net, invite you to come with us over to Northside next week and
see firsthand what our boys can dish up during the actual season after these two
scrimmages. So long folks, and
until then, this is Pete Cougar signing off.
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