VICTORY STADIUM—Tonight was the night that Patrick Henry fought long and hard for a slice of victory… again. In a chilly but peaceful and quiet atmosphere no doubt caused by the lack of a marching band from either school, the Pulaski County Cougars gathered their minutemen against the Patrick Henry Patriots.

Pulaski won the coin toss and, as usual, elected to defer to the second half, giving the red-and-gold defense a run to start off the showdown. Luis Piscura’s kickoff landed in the arms of a receiver who took it up to the thirty-three before going down. Quarterback Mike Young got his boys off to a great start by launching and connecting a thirty-yard pass to receiver Chris Martin before Pulaski’s Cain Montgomery got the stop. Now on the Cougar thirty-seven yard line after only one play, Young tried to run the ball and slipped like a snowman on a furnace floor. Officially, Kasey McCambridge got the stop. While it would have been sweet if he had, what he actually did was land on him. Still pretty good in my opinion. This cost the Pats a yard, and they only gained three to make up for it. With the down third and eight, an incomplete pass was covered by Pulaski’s official unsung hero of tonight’s game: Sophomore cornerback and wideout Jason Collins. On the thirty-five, they punted.

Pulaski’s drive was a lot longer, highlighting the Patriots’ defense. Their punting game, however, is another story. A punt of only twelve yards landed our boys on our own twenty-four yard line. Kevin Crouse dominated the first three carries, getting the Cougars up to the twenty-nine but then getting called for a penalty that cost us ten yards. From the nineteen, Crouse got to the twenty-two where Patrick Henry was called offsides. The down was now third and ten on the twenty-seven yard line. Ernie Hodge stepped in with that criss-cross play we all just love to see and picked up a respectable thirteen yards for the first first down of the evening’s festivities. From the forty, Crouse ran the ball twice more, getting another first down on Patrick Henry’s forty-five and then reaching the thirty-eight. On the next play Will White, a senior wideout, went deep for a bullet pass from quarterback Ryan Dean but it failed to connect. From personal opinion and what this writer saw, Will basically got his helmet smacked by the dude covering him. In any event, no flags were thrown and Crouse picked up the ball and carried to the thirty-seven. Pulaski was flagged for holding and got ten yards taken out from under their belts. From the forty-seven, Hodge scrambled up to the thirty-three and then Chad Thompson to the thirty-one.

This next play was nothing short of hilarious. In a nutshell, Thompson carried the ball again for a sweet gain of fourteen yards and lost his shoe in the process. Reaching the seventeen from the thirty-three with one shoe on is no easy task, my man. Way to go. Kevin Crouse seized the growing opportunity on the next two plays. First, he claimed a first down on the four yard line, and then he wrestled his way up and basically was tipped over into the endzone for the game’s first touchdown and extra point. With the clock running 3:29 remaining in the first quarter, the Cougars led 7-0.

The following Kickoff was caught at the Patriot’s five yard line and carried to the twenty-two. Mike Young dropped back for a pass, and then gained five yards running from Kasey McCambridge and Ernie Hodge. A long pass was thrown after that, which Crouse nearly intercepted but fell incomplete instead. With the down third and five, Patrick Henry ran a no-gainer, fumbled, and watched the Cougars recover it. A Patriot was down on the field for a few moments due to a cramp, but was able to walk off unassisted.

With some yardage to gain and a new ball to gain it with, Kevin Crouse ran the shortest drive of the game with a twenty-six-yard touchdown. After Piscura sailed that same ball through the goal post, our boys were up 14-0 with 2:06 remaining.

The kickoff that followed was returned up to the twenty-five this time, where the carrier was mowed down by pretty much every Cougar on the field. Kasey McCambridge took two yards from the offense, and then the Patriot’s number twenty-four guy took them back, making the down third and ten on the twenty-five, right where the drive began. Hodge and Collins made sure of that. Patrick Henry was called for illegal procedure, and the first quarter drew to a close.

After switching sides on the field, the Pats punted. The ball, which traveled a staggering thirty-three yards, fell short on the Cougars’ forty-two. Ryan Dean ran it to the fifty, and then an anonymous carrier took it for seven more yards. With a first down now claimed, Crouse took the ball again for three yards, and Chad Thompson ran a no-gainer by getting Dean’s handoff, fumbling it, and recovering it with all the desperation of an Ethiopian who just spotted a turkey leg. Kevin Crouse landed two more yards after that, and then Ernie Hodge got everyone in the away stands cheering by running another criss-cross all the way to the one yard line. It would be Ryan Dean himself who would take it in for a third touchdown on the next play with 7:56 left on the clock and the score up 21-0.

It was on this next drive that the Patriots began stirring and waking up. Starting from their thirty-three yard line, Mike Young threw a long but incomplete pass covered by Jason Collins. In the next two plays, however, those boys landed no less than forty-one yards. First, a long pass to the Cougar forty yard line and then a fourteen yard run got them two consecutive first downs in a row. The next carry got nothing, courtesy of some red-and-gold shoulder pads I’d rather not see coming my way, and then Mike Young tried something that would have been genius—if it worked. He actually pretended to fake a pass. He dropped back, looked around, heaved the ball without letting go of it, and then threw it for real only to see it land on the grass. Three yards were gained on the next play, and the Pats called a timeout, obviously disorganized. Something happened, however, to whip them into shape, as on the next carry Mike Young launched a touchdown pass. Kasey McCambridge blocked the extra point, but hopes of a shutout were now history. With the clock reading 4:31 left in the half, the score was now 21-6.

Kevin Crouse snatched the kickoff and returned it to the twenty-two where a host of patriots brought him down. He paid them back for it directly afterward by slipping through their fingers and gaining twenty yards. Thompson picked up two more and from the forty-four Hodge criss-crossed the fifty and landed on the Patrick Henry forty-eight for another first down. Crouse, Thompson, and Crouse, in that order, got the handoffs for the next three plays and took them to the forty-five, the thirty-seven, and twenty-five yardlines. It was now Rashad Simmons’ turn to have some playtime. He decided to pace his yardage, gaining only three. Ernie Hodge made up for it with another criss-cross—or at least tried to. For once, the Pats were ready for him and he ended up losing a yard because of it. A flag was called on someone but officials waved it off. With the down third and eight on the twenty-one, Chad Thompson got Dean’s right pitch and scraped the fourteen yard line. A measurement revealed that there was no first down, so Chad ran it again and got it that time with a six-yard carry that put the Cougars in “first-and-goal land.” From the eight yard line, Thompson wrestled his was to the five and then to the one. Just in time to disappoint the whole Cougar crowd, the clock signaled halftime.

After a music-free and therefore uneventful halftime, Kevin Crouse got the kickoff return and was knocked out of bounds at the twenty-five yard line. He ran the ball twice after that, and got nothing both times. A pass to Jason Collins was batted down, and with the down fourth and ten on the twenty-five, Pulaski punted for the very first time in the game.

Piscura shot the ball in the air where it landed on Patrick Henry’s forty-five yard line. What happened next faked every Cougar—player and fan—out. Mike Young got the handoff, dropped back for a long bullet pass, got our defense way out there, and then threw it about three yards to his receiver. A twenty-five-yard gain (ceased by Ryan Dean) put them on Pulaski’s twenty yard line. What the game announcer for the Patriot home games referred to as a “host of Cougars” bullrushed the carrier on the next play for a gain of nothing. Kevin Crouse and Casey Turpin kept this going on the next play, preventing Young from passing. They forced him to run and only gain two yards. One more was snagged after that, and then Patrick Henry called a timeout and was called offsides in a matter of maybe half a minute. From the twenty-two, a half-back pass claimed the twelve yard line for them. A couple plays later, they reached the endzone for a touchdown. They tried a two-point conversion but failed and the score was boosted up to 21-12 with 7:21 left in the first half of the game’s last half.

Pulaski’s next drive was short and uneventful. Chad Thompson managed to return the kickoff up to the thirty-nine, but only five yards were gained during which Kevin Crouse cramped up and Rashad Simmons snagged the four yards Kevin missed. From the forty-four, Pulaski punted.

The ball landed dead at the sixteen yard line. Kasey McCambridge saw to it that in the next two plays, the Pats only gained one yard. Nine more were claimed after that, however, and they scored a first down. A long pass was dropped, and a second attempt put them on Pulaski’s forty-five yard line for a gain of twenty-seven yards. Another pass was overthrown, and a six-yard run followed. Two more incomplete passes turned the ball over—finally—to the Cougars.

Starting out on the thirty-eight, Kevin Crouse snagged four yards first thing. Chad Thompson took the ball eighteen yards more to the forty, Crouse five more yards, and then Chad fumbled the ball again, this time for a controversial Patriot recovery.

The Patriots started their next drive and closed the third quarter with a gain from their twenty-seven to the twenty-eight. As the final quarter began, Young launched two more incomplete passes before having to punt pitifully to their own twenty-five yard line.

After a two-yard loss, Chad raced up from the twenty-seven all the way to the five yard line where a Patriot dropped him like a sack of potatoes. The ball made it to the two yard line, and then Crouse got himself another touchdown and Luis got in another extra point to raise the score 28-12 with 9:56 left in the game.

The following kickoff return put Patrick Henry on their forty-one. A shuttle pass was shut down for a loss of three yards, and then Frank Baldwin got a quarterback sack for a loss of twenty-four. With the down third and a mere (snort!) twenty-seven, the pats attempted another bullet pass which landed out-of-bounds. Somehow, however, Pulaski got flagged and Patrick Henry got an automatic first down. Another incomplete pass that, again, nearly got intercepted, followed. Two straight first downs set them up on the Cougars’ thirty-five yard line before Ryan Dean stopped the gain. Another pass got them to the thirty, and after they called a timeout they lost two yards. From there, another pass put them somewhere between the eleven and twelve yardlines where McCambridge and Robertson scarred them for life. Alas, they still scored another touchdown directly afterward and also managed to nail the two-point conversion attempt, making the score 28-20 in the Cougars’ favor with 5:33 remaining.

Crouse returned the following kickoff to the twenty-nine yard line. Pulaski was penalized for holding but the penalty was declined. We lost three yards anyway. Kevin gained five more, but after a timeout Ernie lost one. The down was four and nine after all was said and done, so Luis punted the ball to Patrick Henry’s thirty-six yard line.

Te following pass attempt from Mike Young was incomplete. Simmons and McCambridge sacked Young again for a loss of seven, The next two plays were identical—a long and incomplete pass which Austin Twine nearly intercepted.

Pulaski began the final drive of the game on Patrick Henry’s thirty. Chad Thompson gained four yards and a Patriot was down on the field for a good few moments before getting up on his own power. Seven yards were gained by Crouse after that, including a first down, after which, with less than a minute on the clock, Ryan Dean took a couple of knees to run out the clock.

It being a school night and a long drive back home, this writer only had time to catch head coach Jack Turner on the field, after he gave a very sportsman-like pep talk to Patrick Henry’s team. He even checked in with an injured player of theirs. When asked and complimented about this, he stated, “they’ve got great heart, and I just had to say something. It was a good game for both teams, and any victory for us is a great one.”

We couldn’t agree more, coach.

Now comes the part where I become a total lovable sap and personally invite all of you to the next game. It will take place Saturday night at Dobson Stadium and our boys will host the Franklin County Eagles. I’ll see you ladies there. Oh, and if you insist, bring those guys of yours. Seriously though, see ya there!