The Locker Room October 6, 2004

FINALLY.....HALFTIME IS HERE!!!

Hello again Cougar Fans........CAN YOU SAY 5-0?!    I knew you could.

It's been a while since we have found ourselves in this position, and I must say it is GREAT to see.  Lets take a look back at how we have gotten to this point, and see if we can figure out what this years team is doing right.

To begin with, Pulaski had a great pre-season to start out the year.  After spending an entire off season brooding in the weight room thinking about how short their last season seemed, the Cougars came out to scrimmage Bluefield, and then took on Heritage and George Wythe in the Touchdown Classic.  Pulaski did well against all of these teams, and was able to pinpoint some of its weaknesses.  After taking a look at the films, second year head coach Jack Turner got his team geared up for regular season action.

First, Pulaski played host to Northside.  While Northside has been facing some uncharacteristically bad seasons the past two years, the Vikings are not a pushover by any means.  This young Northside team was an improved version of the previous years 1-9 group, but the Cougars still managed a 35-0 win.  Yes, it was the same score as the previous year, but it was a much more impressive win.

Next, Pulaski faced its toughest test in two years.  William Fleming came into the contest with very high rankings in all of the state polls, and even getting a nod or two from some national polls.  Returning  a strong, fast, and  experienced group of players, the Colonels were expected to make another run at 14 games.  They came into the Cougar Den expecting to win, what they got was a fight.  Pulaski managed to hang in tough through the game,  and pulled off a huge upset with a last minute drive to win the game.  It has been said that this was the moment that Head Coach Jack Turner officially took charge of the Cougar football program.  This win was huge, and it gave the Cougars a much needed boost of confidence going into the rest of their out of district schedule.

Over the  course of the next three weeks, Pulaski County faced three AAA schools.  First they faced the Patrick Henry Patriots, and were able to defeat them on a Monday night in Victory Stadium.  They came back five days later, and faced our old friends from  Franklin County on a Saturday night at home.  The Cougars were able to  defeat the Eagles in a convincing manner, and then took a second to think about payback.  Last years loss to the E.C. Glass Hilltoppers cost Pulaski a chance at making the playoffs.  The  Cougars did not forget.  In a hard  fought battle at City Stadium in Lynchburg, the Cougars found themselves tied at 14 at the end of  regulation.   Pulaski took the ball first, and scored on a Kevin Crouse run, followed by a successful PAT by Luis Piscura, who for the  second time this year found himself the target of hungry linebackers as he had to run the ball at some point during the game. The Hilltoppers came out and scored also, which set up some final drama as Coach Turner called timeout to talk to his team.  The last person he spoke to before leaving the field was #8, Chad Thompson.  Thompson later said that he felt guilty about not playing a good game for his teammates, and felt like he needed to do something to help the team.  He did.  He blocked the PAT, and won the game for the battle scared Cougars.  

So what's different this year?  On the surface, we've got the usual good running back (Crouse is this years version, and he is a good 'un!!), a couple of strong defensive players (Hodge, Baldwin, Crouse, McCambridge, and Cobbs come to mind right off hand), and  some young players who are stepping up (Benji Poindexter, Brent Osborne, and Casey Turpin to name a few).  But this year it also seems like there are also more players who weren't expected to make an impact yet stepping up and adding more than their share to the program.  Anyone who was at the Franklin County game had to be impressed with Cab Cabaniss and they way he seemed to be a man possessed before getting his knee banged up.  There have been a couple of those this year, and that's a good thing!!  But I think the main thing this years team is really pushing is heart.  This team has shown tons of heart and determination.  They could have given up against Fleming, but they didn't.  They could have easily folded against the Hilltoppers, with it seemed like every player hurt in one way or the other, but they didn't.

This team WANTS to win.  This team WANTS to make us proud.  This team knows a little something about PRIDE, and HEART!!!  I  cannot think of anything else I can say about this group of young men that would express what a lot of people are feeling right now except that. 

Now take this time to rest and recover, its time for district play.  This week we have our bye week, and the coaching staff is taking time to make sure the Cougars get some much needed rest and prepare for their first district game, Homecoming against Hidden Valley on October 15th. 

This Friday night at Dobson Stadium, there will be a game of different sorts.  The Annual "Powder-Puff" football game, between the Senior girls and the Junior girls will be on tap, and from what I've been told it will be a fight you wont want to miss.  Come on out and eat some hotdogs, and cheer on a group of young ladies that include some basketball players, some softball players, some soccer players, and a bunch of Cougar Crazies. Game time is 7 pm, get there early and you might get your picture taken by yours truly.  Good luck to everybody involved, and make sure they save me some hotdogs!!!
 
 
 

The DOMINATION FACTOR		2004
2004	COUGARS	Opponent
Season Average	120.45	75.55
Northside 35-0	140.67	55.33
William Fleming 20-19	100.63	95.37
Patrick Henry 28-20	126.30	69.70
Franklin County 33-14	130.49	65.51
E. C. Glass 21-20 OT	104.17	91.83
Hidden Valley	xxxx	xxxx
Blacksburg	xxxx	xxxx
Christiansburg	xxxx	xxxx
Cave Spring	xxxx	xxxx
Salem	xxxx	xxxx

Last Week's Game:

Block Shatters Glass!

Game Photos

Box Score