There is an old cliché, “Great things don’t last forever”, and this great five-game winning streak for the Pulaski County Cougars came to a screeching halt right down Interstate 81 in Christiansburg.

If you looked on paper, you would have instantly thought that all the Cougars would have to do was to show up to this game due to our history of absolutely destroying Christiansburg by the average spread of seven touchdowns. Obviously, the program seriously overlooked the fact that this Christiansburg lost to three extremely talented and powerful football teams this season, Cave Spring, Salem, and Giles. The Cougars were truly riding on pigskin Cloud Nine and essentially thought that this game was a lock, but boy were they in for a ride of their lives.

Tonight was bitterly cold, as the temperatures dipped to near freezing; Pulaski County fans showed up to the Christiansburg Athletic Complex with high aspirations and could not wait to see the expected field day for our team. During the pregame conversation on 107.1 FM, Coach Turner was very leery and was in a total state of worry because of the threat of this volatile team.  He warned the listeners that if the Cougars did not get out to a quick start, we would have a lot to worry about.

As soon as the opening kickoff, the Blue Demons went off to a running start as they connected on their first four possessions for touchdowns as they had a commanding lead 28 to zero at the break.

Hoffer immediately got the Demon offense cranked up by hitting Drew Bailey for 38 yards. Five plays later, Andrew Hoffer slipped over from the one and the Demons took a very early lead. Pulaski County kept the ball for 11 plays, but was stopped at the Christiansburg 27. The Demons then began a drive that moved into the first minute of the second quarter, going 73 yards in 10 plays with Hoffer scoring from the four.  The teams traded punts until Christiansburg took advantage of a short one, starting a possession at the Pulaski County 44. The score came when Hoffer kept on the option, and burst through the middle of the Cougar defense for a 39-yard touchdown with 2:08 to play in the first half.  

It would continue to get worse as the Cougars began to fumble the football; David Jeter fumbled the kickoff return at the 37. On the next snap, Hoffer hit Bailey again, who again ran wide open through the Cougar defense for another touchdown. With 1:55 left in the half as Christiansburg led 28 to 0 at the break and had scored two touchdowns in 13 seconds, the Cougar fans, coaches, and players began to ponder about what had went so terribly wrong?

After shutting out Blacksburg just a week ago, allowing only two first downs and only 35 yards, they gave up 249 in just the first half to a thriving Demon offense.

Any hope Pulaski County had ended with its first possession of the second half. The Cougars kept the ball for 13 plays, but were held on downs at the Christiansburg 22. Chad Chapman immediately broke a 59-yard run around for the Demons, but this time the Cougar defense held when Hoffer was stopped two yards short of the end zone on fourth down six plays later.

This was not Pulaski County’s night and two plays later Kevin Crouse fumbled and Christiansburg had possession at the four, as Hoffer ran it in from four yards out. The Cougars were moving again following the kickoff, but after two first downs, Benji Poindexter lost the handle and Christiansburg was back in business at the Cougar 40. Hoffer scrambled for 15, then for 13, and then hit Keith Johnson with a five-yard scoring pass and with 7:06 to play, it was 42 to zero.

A fourth fumble happened on the kickoff; Nubian Peak could not find the handle and fumbled the ball in open field as Christiansburg again had the ball in Cougar territory, this time on the 11-yard line. Chapman scored three plays later and the Demons finished their offensive burst as they led by 49.

At least the turnovers and penalties were over for Pulaski County and following the kickoff the Cougars drove for their only touchdown of the game as they marched 78 yards to paydirt on an 11-play drive. Kevin Crouse burst into the endzone from the one, and Piscura’s extra point was blocked by whom else but Andrew Hoffer, who had also had a pass interception as well as his offensive feats.

The Cougars were blindsided by their worst loss since 2002 against Tazewell. Pulaski County was never in the hunt. Seldom can it be said that the opponent was a more determined team, but at least on this occasion, the Blue Demons were easily the most focused and most determined football team. Likely, much of what took place Friday night was a result of last season’s hammering Pulaski County gave to Christiansburg that ruined the Demons’ season and slammed the door on a 7-0 run.

A win against the Demons would have sealed the deal for a playoff spot, as Amherst, Louisa, and Hidden Valley were upset. However, Pulaski picked up valuable power points at the fate of those three, but we need to win out to cement our hopes of returning to the playoffs. Please come out and support the Cougars as they return home to face Cave Spring in a pivotal RRD game in Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium on Friday night at 7:30!!

GO COUGARS!!

Pulaski County learned some valuable lessons tonight in it’s game against the Christiansburg Blue Demons. Unfortunately, they were learned the hard way as the Cougars fell 49-6 in a contest that was never really in question after the first quarter.

Pulaski County simply couldn’t move the ball on offense, and they couldn’t stop the speedy Blue Demon offense.

Defensively, Christiansburg was able to stretch out the field and gain large chunks of yards, mostly due to the speed and agility of their quarterback, #11 Andrew Hoffer. Hoffer was able to scramble from one side of the field to the other, and if he couldn’t find an open receiver he would tuck the ball and run, usually for another nice gain. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pulaski County won the time of possession battle, as it usually only took the Blue Demons a couple of plays to score.

On offense, the Cougars showed signs of life several times, but penalties and turnovers helped the Blue Demon defense keep Pulaski in check.. Pulaski would drive the ball a couple of times tonight, but each time they got things working well, either a penalty or a fumble would set them back. The Cougars gave up the ball several times deep in their own territory too, giving Christiansburg a couple of short yardage touchdowns that ended up being the final nails in the Cougars coffins tonight. Pulaski did manage to get on the board and avoid a shutout, but as fate would have it on this cold and unforgiving night, the extra point attempt was blocked. Pulaski also managed to recover a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after the Christiansburg return team got a little confused, but with 17 seconds left in the game it was a little too late for a comeback. The Cougars, with no time outs left, managed to get two plays off and move the ball down to near the goal line before time expired and the Blue Demon celebration began. On a side note, I’d like to commend the officials and both coaching staffs for the way they controlled the teams and fans tonight. Several times I heard coaches from either side reminding their players to keep their heads and keep their cool. The Blue Demons were obviously and understandably excited, just as the Cougars were frustrated, but everyone kept reminding the kids that they still had games to play next week, and doing something stupid that might jeopardize their playing time the following week wasn’t something they needed to do.

So where do the Cougars go from here? Well, the coaching staff will obviously be making some corrections and adjustments this week. Fortunately for Pulaski County, there were some other teams who may have stumbled tonight as well. We’ll have to see how the whole power points deal comes out, but I think it goes without saying that Pulaski County is going to have to beat Cave Spring and Salem if it wants to guarantee it’s self a trip to the playoffs. The Cougars are going to have to buckle down, just like they did in that fourth quarter against Franklin County, and play Cougar Football. Either way, it should be an exciting ride for the next couple of weeks, and I hope to see everybody out there making some noise for the team as they go against Cave Spring next week at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium. Be sure to check back later in the week for the pre-game write up on that game.

Pulaski County Cougars, get your heads up boys!! Take what the Blue Demons gave you tonight and move on to the rest of your season. We’re behind you guys no matter what, just keep working baby!! Just keep working!!!

GO COUGARS!!!