The Locker Room November 3, 2004

Hello folks, and welcome back to another week at cougarfootball.net. 

I'd like to start this weeks article by once again taking a look back at last week’s action.  Pulaski County went into its game against Christiansburg in a must win situation.  The Cougars had to win if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive.  The Blue Demons were coming into the game undefeated and looking for revenge.  They came onto the field with high hopes and big dreams, and those turned into disappointment and nightmares.  Our Cougars played a great game, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, keeping pressure on the quarter back, and playing some great pass defense.  Sophomore sensation Kevin Crouse once again proved to be the feature running back, coming away from the contest with over 260 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Senior Ryan Dean played a great game at quarterback with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run of his own.  Backs Ernie Hodge, Chad Thompson, and Rashad Simmons all played great on both side of the ball as well.  It was great to see senior Will White catch a touchdown pass too.  It was just a GREAT night overall for the Cougars, who walked away with a very convincing 49-20 victory over the Blue Demons.   I spoke with one of the Christiansburg coaches after the game, and he said, "When Pulaski County comes out and plays like they did tonight, you simply cannot beat them. You have to just hope they make some kind of mistake and beat themselves.  They didn’t, and now we have to move on to the next game."  Congratulations to everybody, now lets take a look at what’s coming up this week.

The Cave Spring Knights......what can you say?  This team has given us more great games than I care to remember. We have had 11 games decided by a touchdown or less when playing against this team.  Two of which were overtime thrillers.  Pulaski County leads the series 21 games to 7.  The Cougars have won 12 out of the last 13 contests, and 19 out of the last 21.  The Knights come into this game with a 6-2 record, with a loss to Salem and a thrilling 4OT loss to Christiansburg.  The Knights seem to have recovered from losing half its student body a few years back to the new Hidden Valley High School, and now they are back in the hunt for some post season action themselves.. If you look at the Knights schedule, they only have the Cougars and Hidden Valley left for regular season action.  One win should be enough for them to make it in, but they would certainly feel more confident with two. 

The Cougars on the other hand, cannot afford to lose, period.  If Pulaski County loses either one of its last two games, then they may once again miss out on their chance at the playoffs.  The Cougars have set themselves up pretty well by playing the hard schedule that they have, but due to the competitiveness of the district and region that we play in, 8-2 just will not make it.  There are a lot of other districts and regions around the state where teams with 6-4, 5-5, and maybe even a 4-6 record is going to be good enough to make it, but not around here.  I have a strong feeling that Head Coach Jack Turner wouldn’t have it any other way either.  He likes competition, and so do the Cougars. 

So here we are, once again, in a must win situation.  Pulaski must travel to Roanoke to take on a long time foe, and  they must win.  If the Cougars can go down and play like they did this past Friday night, and keep that intensity throughout the rest of the regular season, then I can see only good things for this group of young men.

If you've never been asked, let me once again invite you to come out on out and root for the Cougars this Friday night. Gates usually open around 6, and kickoff is at 7:30.  We can expect a very large, very loud crowd on the Knights side of the field, and I sure hope we can provide the same for our kids!! 

Good luck to the Cougars, and we'll see everyone there!!

GO COUGARS!!!  BEAT THE KNIGHTS!!!!!
 
 

Friday, November 5 - Cave Spring Knights (Away):

Series: PC leads 21-7.
Streaks: PC has won 19 of the last 21, including streaks of 11 and 7. The Knights took 5 of the first 7 in the series.
Biggest Cougar Winning Margin: 42, 1993 (49-7) , 1995 (49-7)
Biggest Cougar Losing Margin: -42, 1978 (0-42)
Closest Game: 1999 Cougars 35, Knights 34 (OT). One of the Greatest Games in Cougar History, and my personal favorite.
Average Score: Cougars 24, Knights 15
Last meeting: 2003 at PC. Result: Cougars 42-0.
 

	Overall Record	Gilliam Rating
Pulaski County Cougars	7-1	71.46
Cave Spring Knights	6-2	69.44

Region III District Standings
Unofficial VHSL Ratings
2004 Cougar Team Statistics
2004 Cougar Individual Statistics
 
 

The DOMINATION FACTOR		2004
2004	COUGARS	Opponent
Season Average	115.27	80.73
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 6-31	68.02	127.98
Blacksburg 27-0	121.61	74.39
Christiansburg 49-20	130.33	65.67
Cave Spring	xxxx	xxxx
Salem	xxxx	xxxx

Last Week's Game:

Demons Tricked, Cougars Treated!

Game Photos

Box Score