Halloween Havoc Slights Knights by Pete Cougar Full
Story and Interviews
KENNETH
J. DOBSON STADIUM-- Halloween night. Also, coincidentally, the first Cougar game
of the season to take place during daylight savings time, which made the night
very dark very quickly. Everywhere in the stadium were people sporting costumes
of all sorts: skeletons, devils, generic painted faces, and our very own
CougarDave sporting cap with devil horns sprouting from it. Cool. When these
elements were combined, they all seemed to scream out one thing: that tonight's
showdown between the Pulaski County Cougars and the Cave Spring Knights was
going to be interesting. Tonight
was not only the Homecoming game for the Cougars, but also one with an
interesting history to it, as depicted in this week's CougarDave Corner.
It was three years ago in the year 2000. Our boys were 9-0 and handing all of
their opponents' rear ends to them on a silver platter. Suddenly, on the last
game of that season, the Cougars were unceremoniously embarrassed at the hands
of the Knights, 49-14. Now, since the split that formed Hidden Valley High
School, Cave Spring's intensity seems to have gone down along with their student
body number. In
any event, some interesting festivities were held tonight. The first of which
was that of "senior night," a ceremony occurring at the final home
game of each season. Athletes such as football players, volleyball players,
cheerleaders, and band members in the twelfth grade were recognized with their
parents. At
long last, the annual homecoming smash-mouth slugfest began, of course, with the
coin toss, which the Knights won. After they elected to defer, the players lined
up on the gridiron to kick off the ball to the Cougars. Brandon Anderson caught
the ball and ran it up to the twenty-five yardline. He ran it again on the first
play of the game, climbing four yards to the twenty-nine. Derrick Burks
introduced himself to the Knights with the first first down of the night. After
that, Burks ran it to the thirty-nine for a minor three yards. Anderson reached
the forty-two thanks to some heavy juking and blocking. From there, Derrick took
it up for what looked like four yards, but not enough that it didn't call for a
measurement. The officials brought the orange marker-chain thingy (hey, what can
I say? I don't know what the thing's called) down to where the ball was and held
it out. The further of the two white lines on the ball lined up perfectly with
the second marker. As minimal as it was, it was a first down nonetheless.
Brandon Anderson got the handoff from Britt Shumate next, invading Knight
territory to claim the forty-eight for a gain of seven yards. Burks carried to
the forty-three for the first down next, and then took it again to reach the
forty-one, getting mobbed by a large wad of red, white, and black. The down was
now second and eight on the forty-one yardline. Britt Shumate got the snap,
dropped back, and launched a huge, beautiful, arched pass through the
surprisingly warm night air and straight down into the anxiously waiting arms of
Steven Cobbs at about the ten, from which he took it all the way for the first
touchdown of the night. A successful extra point put the homeboys on the board,
7-0 with a hefty 7:57 left in the opening quarter. Jamie
Steger stepped out onto the grass for the following kickoff. The receiver for
Cave Spring caught the ball and made a drastic, excruciating run up to the ten
before Chad Thompson nailed him. The Knights' unknown quarterback threw the
first incomplete pass of the night, and a sweep by running back Jeremiah
Overstreet got the Knights on the sixteen before Frank Baldwin showed up and
drilled him. From there, Cave Spring got the first down where Greg Sartin and
Ryan Dean got the stop. Sartin got in another great defensive play when the
opposing quarterback launched a pass and he swatted it down like a horsefly.
After reaching the thirty-three, the down was first and ten. Ryan Dean and
Brandon Anderson hovered over the receiver-to-be on the following play, and the
huge pass fell incomplete, within inches of Dean's hands. Overstreet ran wide to
the right, saw Shaun Branscome, and slipped as if he suddenly wanted to run the
other way. Hmmm. That was good for all of one yard. The next play, a well-needed
completed pass, was good for all of twenty-five. From there, they reached the
forty-one, and then the quarterback pitched right where the receiver was
instantly pummeled by Ryan Dean and pushed back to the forty-four. A flag was
thrown immediately on the next play, and Pulaski was nailed for an offsides
call. Personally, I saw nothing of the sort. Then on the following play, the
unknown and unfortunate carrier fumbled the ball, which was recovered by none
other than Ernie Hodge. To
begin Pulaski's second drive of the night, the officials celebrated with their
routine first-quarter-of-the-homecoming-game penalty. Apparently, holding was
the penalty drawn from the hat this time around. This made the down first and
twenty on the Knights' thirty-seven yardline. Brandon Anderson gained three
yards off the bat to reach the forty, a nice round line of scrimmage. Ernie
Hodge stepped in with that criss-cross play that everybody loves. He managed to
crawl up to the forty-four for a decent five yards. Britt Shumate tried to
decide what to do next but wasn't quick enough and was sacked for a loss of
about twelve, making the down fourth and twenty-five on the thirty-six yardline.
Pulaski punted. Steger's
punt rolled dead at the Cave Spring twenty-eight yardline. The Knights launched
an incomplete pass, and on the next play Overstreet fumbled for a recovery by
Matt Tilley, putting the Cougars back in action with twenty yards to go. Derrick
Burks got the handoff on the first--and last--play of this new drive, going all
the way for a touchdown after escaping the solid grip of at least two or three
Cave Spring defenders. Somehow, Pulaski was flagged before they could kick the
extra point. Oh well. Still, the ball went through the post and the score was
elevated to 14-0 just as the first quarter ended. Some
anonymous receiver for the Knights returned the following kickoff from the ten
up to the twenty-five. Overstreet got the pitch and was stopped at the twenty
yardline by Ernie Hodge. It was there that Matt Tilley batted another one of the
QB's passes. It was also there that Brandon Anderson got a tackle in that pushed
the Knights back to the nineteen, where they were forced to either punt or run
sixteen yards. They punted. The ball rolled dead at the thirty-four. Brandon
Anderson ran the ball up to the thirty-seven yardline before going down. The
next play had every present cougar fan on their feet and chewing out the
referees, to put it lightly. Anderson got Shumate's handoff and ran it all the
way in for a touchdown, but it was called back due to another holding penalty.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was added seconds later. Being forced back
from Cave Spring's endzone to their own twenty-two yardline, it's safe to bet
that the Cougars felt just a tad cheated. That's also how every cougar fan in
the stands and at home listening to the game on the radio felt. With everything
they thought they had still to gain, Derrick Burks took the ball to the
twenty-one. Anderson, a peeved man on a mission, ran the ball all the way up to
the forty yardline for a gain of sixteen yards. The down was now fourth and
four. Burks carried the ball up the middle for a well-deserved first down. From
there, and seemingly with a new fire as a result of the first down, Anderson
took it down into Knight territory to the thirty-five. It was from there that
Burks got the handoff and gave Brandon a rest with a long run of his own for the
touchdown and seven more points, including the one earned by Kicker Luis
Piscura. With 7:14 remaining in the half, the score was now 21-0. Jamie
Steger took over the kicking duties afterward, sending the ball clear into Cave
Spring's endzone for a touchback. This put the Knights on their own twenty, one
of their best starting field positions of the night. A pass was fired off to a
guy who caught it but was hammered by Ryan Dean immediately and the ball popped
out of his arms to fall incomplete. Two more yards were claimed on the next play
before Matt Tilley and S.G. brown got the rather abrupt stop. >From there,
Cave Spring landed on the twenty-six yardline where Matt Robertson got the
tackle. This made the down fourth and four, which coaxed the Knights into
punting again. Brandon
Anderson didn't catch the ball, but tried to pick it up. However, this meant
that the ball was now live, so now every Knight within range was scrambling for
it along with Anderson. Finally, Ryan Dean came out with it on the thirty-four.
Derrick Burks set off the drive by immediately going over the forty-five to the
forty-seven for a first down. Anderson took the ball to the Cave Spring
forty-two, where Burks got the following handoff and reached the twenty-eight
for another first down. Anderson ran again but got no gain, as the Knight
defense was more than likely prepared for him. Even worse was next, when the
hungry defenders pushed him back three yards. He fought back, however, and he
fought hard. Directly after this, he got Shumate's handoff and ran the ball up
to the nineteen for a twelve-yard gain, making the down fourth and one. After a
time out by the Cougars, Britt Shumate ran a keeper and got the first down for
Pulaski. From the seventeen, Burks claimed the thirteen. Shumate ran a bootleg
next, but it failed to fake anyone out and he only reached the twelve. Derrick
Burks ran it again next, taking the ball down to the four yardline. What
disturbed me about this play was that when none of the officials were looking,
one Cave Spring player took senior Z-back David Turpin's helmet and threw it out
of bounds. Naturally, he got away with it. Burks ran the ball again in an effort
to score six more, but was pushed back and lost a yard. That ailed to make a
difference, as on the next carry Burks tried it again and got inside for the
touchdown. When it came time to kick the extra point, Cave Spring was nailed for
an offsides call but Pulaski declined it. Piscura kicked the ball in and the
points went up 28-0 with 32.2 remaining in the half. A
kickoff from Jamie Steger yielded another touchback. From the twenty, a pass was
completed to wide receiver Phillip Johnson on the twenty-nine yardline before he
went down at the hands of Greg Sartin. This signaled the end of the first half. After
a performance by the Golden Cougar Marching Band, the PCHS Homecoming court
paraded around the field on the track in fancy cars with sponsors on the doors.
After they were dropped off on the away sideline, they escorted each other to
midfield. Candidates for Homecoming King were Brandon Anderson, Chris Bowling,
Derrick Burks, Jayson Dalton, Brady Hale, Tyler Morris, Reid Snow, Britt
Shumate, Jamie Steger, and Matt Tilley. Candidates for Homecoming Queen were
Courtney Anderson, Elyse Brandau, Jade Brillheart, Casey Dodson, Stephanie
Finley, Megan Kemp, Jamie Reedy, Ashley Ritter, Anna Stevens, and Nicole
Thornton. The Duke and Duchess were Brandon Anderson and Courtney Anderson. The
Prince and Princess were Jayson Dalton and Jamie Reedy. Last but not least, the
King and Queen were Matt Tilley and Elyse Brandau. Congratulations to the
winners and all the nominees. You must have done some cool things to be
nominated, you guys. As
soon as all of the Homecoming court and their parents had gotten off the field,
it was time for the showdown to resume. The teams stepped back out onto the
field and for Cave Spring to receive the ball that they had deferred earlier
tonight. Steger's kickoff went into the endzone for a touchback--again. The
newly crowned Homecoming king, Matt Tilley, totally mobbed the carrier next and
prevented even the slightest gain. Pulaski called a time out, and after that
Ernie Hodge got in a huge quarterback sack that pushed the Knights back to the
sixteen. A successful pass landed them on the twenty-seven where the Duke of
Anderson got the tackle. (did I just say that?) With the down now fourth and
three, Cave Spring decided to punt the ball. Brandon Anderson caught the ball
and went down at the twenty-four. Brandon
Anderson kicked off this next drive with an immediate twelve-yarder and a first
down. Derrick Burks took the ball the next two plays, running for four yards and
then three more. The down was third and three on the forty-three. Brandon
Anderson reached the fifty before going down. Burks followed up picked up four
to the forty-six and then to the forty-three, heading deeper and deeper into
Knightland. He made it to the forty-two before Brandon took over, getting
Shumate's handoff and reaching the twenty-five yardline. Not only did this get
our boys a first down, but that marked a hundred ten yards for Anderson for the
night. Also, that hundred-tenth yard was his thousandth of the season. To
top that off, the Knights were penalized for facemask. This put the Cougars on
the twelve, first and ten. Brandon Anderson was forced out of bounds at the
three yardline. The next play, however, didn't see anyone out of bounds. It saw
Burks romping into the endzone for a touchdown and an
as-much-as-I-can-do-without-getting-called-for-excessive-celebration dance.
This, of course, was followed by one of Luis Piscura's extra points, updating
the score to 35-0 with 3:59 on the clock. Jamie
Steger fired off a kickoff next that--surprise--was allowed to sail in for
another touchback. I think the Knight's kept doing that just to get twenty yards
out of the deal. Two yards gained by an anonymous carrier, probably Overstreet,
the guy that seemed to be the only carrier on the team, and then the quarterback
launched a pass that went clear through the hole made by the would-be receiver's
arms. It was kind of like some sort of game where you throw something through a
ring at a carnival or somewhere similar. Anyway, it was incomplete. Steven Cobbs
stepped in on the next play and batted down another pass attempt, leaving the
Knights no choice but to punt, the down being fourth and eight on their own
twenty-two. Brandon
Anderson caught the punt and managed to run to the thirty-eight after some heavy
juking that looked like it could have been the next Macarena. Next, the
"reserves" were called into the action for the remainder of the game.
These include quarterback Ryan Dean, Running back Chad Thompson, Fullback Rashad
Simmons, Cain and Ian Montgomery, etc. From the thirty-eight, Cain took the ball
to the forty-two right away. Chad Thompson got Dean's handoff next, and ran it
only one yard. Trying to redeem himself, Thompson got the handoff again and lost
that yard. This made the down fourth and six. Pulaski punted. The
ball landed in the returner's arms at about the twenty. He made it to about the
fifty, but was called for a clip back at the thirty-four. After being backed up
to the twenty-four, Cave Spring's quarterback launched a huge, beautiful bomb of
a pass--straight into a marching band member, sousaphone (Yiddish for "real
big tuba") player Ben Tuck. After tossing the ball back onto the field and
doing a little crazy dance, Ben decided to go to a safer place. This marked the
end of the third quarter. The
fourth and final quarter of the game began with a pass to some Cave Spring
receiver who went down on the twenty-six courtesy of Steven Cobbs. The down was
now fourth and eight, so the Knights punted again. The punt stopped dead at Cave
Spring's own thirty-nine yardline, as it was partially blocked by Shaun
Branscome. Chad
Thompson got Ryan Dean's handoff at the thirty-nine and scrambled down through
defenders right and left to reach the twenty-three yardline. Rashad Simmons
stepped in with a run of his own to the fourteen. A few yards later, Simmons
landed the Cougars another first down on the eleven. Chad took it from there,
going in all the way for another touchdown. After Piscura launched another of
his soon-to-be-famous extra points, the score was pushed up to 42-0 with 8:10
remaining in the game. The
following kickoff sailed into the receiver's arms on about the five yardline. He
managed to scramble to the nineteen before Kevin Crouse clobbered him. Pulaski
was nailed on an offsides call next, and the Knights were given five yards. From
the twenty-four, they were pushed back to the twenty-three. Matt Robertson
stopped the carrier on the next play after allowing three yards to the
twenty-six, and the carrier after that reached the twenty-eight before going
down hard courtesy of Matt Robertson and Andrew Gore. The down was fourth and
one. Again, Cave Spring decided to punt. It rolled dead at the twenty. Cain
Montgomery took the ball to the twenty-one yardline to kickoff the next drive.
Ryan Dean Fumbled the snap on the next play but recovered quickly. Ian
Montgomery carried next but was somehow predicted by the defenders, and they
pushed him back four yards. With the down fourth and twelve, the Cougars decided
to punt again. The ball sailed to the Knight's thirty-four yardline. This was
the best field position for Cave Spring all night. Cave
Spring got one yard off the bat. Afterwards they got two more, and then a pass
was dropped. From the thirty-one on the fourth down with seven yards to go, they
made it to the twenty-nine. The ball was quickly turned back over to Pulaski. Cain
Montgomery made it to the thirty-one for one final gain before Ryan Dean took a
knee to end a truly awesome game for which we could claim the win. It was 42-0
Cougars. This
was the biggest win in Jack Turner's first season as Head Coach so far, as far
as victory margin is concerned. When asked about that, he said, "The kids
played hard, I just lead them down the steps and once they were down there they
played their hearts out. They're really coming around as a team, and I'm really
coming around as a coach. We owed Cave Spring one tonight. We owed them
big." When
asked his thoughts on the showdown next week at Salem, he said with a gleam in
his eyes, "What can you say? It's the greatest rivalry in the state. We
could both be 0-9 and there'd still be ten thousand people to show up for the
game. It's going to be huge." With
that in mind, as always, let me invite all of you to next week's game at Salem
when we face the Spartans. This hopefully will not be our last game, but we
mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. In the meantime, the PCHS Homecoming Dance is
this Saturday, the first of November. All PCHS students are invited. Admission
is five bucks per person, and it's from 8 to 11. I'll be there, rest assured.
Till then, for all of us here at Cougarfootball.net, this is Pete Cougar signing
off.
Full
Story and Interviews
|
