The Locker Room August 30, 2006

Hello again Cougar Fans, and welcome back to another season with cougarfootball.net and the start of the 2006 Cougar Football season. It’s been a long and busy off season for the Cougars, and they team has looked pretty good during pre-season action. In the 24th Annual Harvey’s GM Touchdown Classic, the Cougars faced two tough teams in Rockbridge and Liberty, and they did well in both sessions. While the score board showed a win in the Rockbridge session and a tie in the Liberty session, the most important thing was some of the lessons learned from facing that tough competition.

But now the pre-season is over. The time for two a day practices and scrimmages are done and over, and now it's time to strap those gold helmets on for real. This Friday night, the 2006 season officially kicks off, and it should be a heck of a game. Patrick Henry has had a very good pre-season as well, and they kicked off their season last week with a 6-0 victory over the always tough William Fleming Colonels. They have an running back that any team would love to have, a solid defense, and an offense that is a threat to break a big play on every snap.

The Cougars lead the series with Patrick Henry 21 games to 11. While the Patriots did win the match up last season, the Cougars have won four in a row before that. In fact, the Patriots dominated the series at the beginning, winning the first seven games of the series. The Cougar turned it around though since then, and have won 21 of the last 25 meetings between the two teams since 1980. All of those games were important, but a win this time in the season opener could be bigger than any of the previous wins for the program.

Pulaski County is a young team. While we do have some seniors, there are not a lot of seniors with a lot of prior playing time. We have a quarterback who played a good bit last season as a sophomore, some running backs who saw a good bit of action last year, and a lineman or two who have seen some time in the trenches, but overall this is a very young team that is learning and growing each week. I expect some good things out of the Cougars this season!!

So here we are, days before the first big game of the season. There are a lot of things about this time of year that I love, but that first time the lights come on for real has got to be one of my favorite.

The band marches in……the rec league kids gather at the bottom of the steps……the smell of hotdogs, hot chocolate and cigars in the air……Skipper Duke appears out of the field house with the Cougar Flag and suddenly everyone in the Stadium gets focused. The Golden Cougar Marching Band plays the Nation Anthem, and then form up on the field. As the team reaches the top of the steps the lights come on and you hear that first note…..I swear I still get goose bumps just thinking about that first note of 2001. As the Cougars make their way down the steps, the fans start going wild…..the Cougar Growl plays over the loud speakers…..the train horn on top of the press box is blowing…and the entire time the Cougars are coming down the steps. The band plays on…..the team reaches the bottom of the steps and walk out into the human chain of fans and students. They make their way to the field, where they rub one of the two Cougars for luck, and it all begins.

Folks, this Friday night there just aren’t too many other places I’d rather be than the friendly confines of Kenneth J Dobson Stadium as our Cougars take on the Patrick Henry Patriots in game one of what promises to be a VERY exciting season. Bring your horns, bring your cowbells, bring your flags and signs.

Pulaski Counties chance to “GET IT BACK” officially starts this Friday night, lets get out their and make a little noise!!!

GO COUGARS!!! BEAT PATRICK HENRY!!!

Cougars by the Numbers
by Ardent Cougar

Once again, Cougar Football is here.  Thankfully.

We are all anxious to erase the memories of last season's unthinkable - a losing season.  Even though it was the 27th consecutive campaign without a losing regular season, a record which can be matched by very very few schools, I can hear some rumbling and mumbling coming from some of our fans.

Those who might be calling for the head of Jack Turner, however, should remember that Joel had not one, not two, but three teams that finished the regular season at 5-5.  None of those teams had the opportunity for the playoffs, meaning that the "opportunity" to lose and make it a losing season, was not an issue for any of those squads.  If one of Jack's teams had to lose in the playoffs, it would have been much fairer to see the 8-2 2004 team do it.

Also, let's not forget that the first loss at Salem last year was - well, go back and read Dave's article after the game.  I'll leave it at that.

On a side note, I feel that the 1999 5-5 team, if healthy, could have made some noise in the postseason.  As I have written before, I feel that we were flat out ripped off at Fleming that season.

Which reminds me - "Victory" Stadium has finally been relegated to a memory.  Hallelujah!

I know that many Roanokers have positive memories of the place, and hated to see it go - this would include a number of Tech fans, since the annual game against VMI years back, was held there.  I understand this, and I feel bad for the kids at Fleming and PH for having to play without a stadium until they have a home or homes, but I have hated that place since at least 1997.  Sometimes you have to tear down the structures of the past, to be able to build for the future. 

I was pleased to see a little bit of a passing game at the Classic last week.  I thought our QB did a pretty good job of staying under control, and keeping that run/pass option open until the defender committed.  I wish we would develop some kind of passing game that would use the whole width of the field, so that passing over the middle would be more of a threat, but to see us successfully execute some kind of passing game, was good to see.

I understand that Jack has been especially tough on this young team.  I believe that he has it within him to inspire and lead this program back to the heights it once occupied, not so long ago.  He had a burden placed upon him, that Joel did not - replacing a legend.  A 5-5 regular season would have been met with approval in 1979.  Now, a 5-5 regular season has some fans shaking their heads, and questioning.

I feel that we will do well.  I am not going to make predictions, but if anyone thinks that Cougar Football is going to disappear, well...

I don't think so.

Welcome back, Cougar Fans.