CougarDave Corner Fleming Preview by CougarDave Wounded Cougars Prepare For Colonels Pulaski travels to Victory Stadium this week to face a team that no one expected them to beat last year, and they’re going to do so without the services of most of the running backs they started the season out with. That’s right folks, Pulaski County is hurting. They are hurting in one of the worst areas a running team could be hurting in. Lets run down the injuries. To start things off, junior fullback Kevin Crouse will most likely not play again this week. Crouse is slowly getting back to form, but Head Coach Jack Turner won't put Crouse back into the lineup until he’s relatively sure that it won't put Crouse in danger of making things even worse. Cody Harmon (#6) is out, as well as Ryan Brown (#16). Both backs will be out for an indefinite period with serious knee or ankle injuries. Looking out of the backfield, the Cougars have a few other players who are dealing with nagging injuries too. Brent Osborne (#72) has been dealing with knee and ankle problems his entire career at PCHS. On a good note however, Junior Benji Poindexter did a fine job last week for Pulaski County, running for over 170 yards and a couple of scores after only getting to practice the fullback position for 4 days. Poindexter had some problems with leg cramps near the end of the game, but that can happen when you have a player on the field almost the entire game. Look for #3 to be the main man carrying the mail again this week, but don't be surprised when you see some young faces in the game giving him a break from time to time. So what can the Cougars do? Well, about the only option Pulaski County has at this point is to move another Gold Helmet into their spots and see how things work out. Coach Turner and crew have been shifting some folks around in an effort to deal with the loss of these players the best they can. As young as this years team was to start with, don’t be surprised if you see some very young guys out there this Friday night when the Cougars face William Fleming in game 2 of the season. The Cougars have face William Fleming 31 times since the school opened, leading the series 19 games to 12. This series has been a back and forth affair, with neither team dominating the other for too many years in a row, and only a few high scoring games either way. There have been 13 games decided by a touchdown or less, and seven games decided by a field goal or less. Both teams are hard hitting, physical teams that aren’t afraid to run the ball up the middle, and the ability to do just that may be what decides the outcome of this one. William Fleming has speed. If you ask most coaches what one thing they have the most problem defending is, that’s the answer you’ll get: speed. The Colonels came into last seasons game ranked as high as #17 in the Country in some polls, and the Cougars come from behind win on a last second Ryan Dean to Kevin Crouse touchdown pass likely has not been forgotten by those players that made the trip down to Dobson Stadium last season. The Colonels will be looking for revenge, and unless the Cougars have some young players who really step it up this Friday night, they may well get that revenge. Last week against PH the Cougars played well enough to win, but they are going to have to play even harder this week. Pulaski County is up against the wall, and they are going to need a supreme performance from every person on the field if they are going to win this Friday night at Victory Stadium. The Cougars have put in the work in the weight room, they’ve put in the time on the practice field, and they have the fight in them to do it, now we’re going to see if they use it. Friday night at Victory Stadium promises to be a hard fought contest, so everybody that can needs to make it down there to make some noise for the Cougars. Just a word to those who haven’t kept up with the current situation in Roanoke, you might want to get to the game a little earlier than normal. The parking situation is questionable at best, the seating arrangements will keep everyone confined to the first nine rows, and port-a-potties will be the order of the day when nature calls. I haven’t heard of anyone selling concessions, so you may want to make sure to eat before you get to the game or bring something along with you. Either way, I’ll be there, so if you see me out and about make sure you say hey. Everybody have a safe trip down I-81, and don’t forget to apply early for your bank loan you’ll need to pay for the gas to get there!! GO COUGARS!!! BEAT THE COLONELS!!!
Cougars
by the Numbers
Friday, September 9 - William Fleming Colonels (Away): Series:
PC
leads 19-12.
LINKS Roanoke Times High School Sports Page (These links go into the archives after about a week) Southwest Times Sports Page (Check early and often - the stories disappear quickly, and are not archived.) Virginia Preps AA Message Board Matt
Gilliam's Ratings (Full access requires a subscription to VirginiaPreps.com.)
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