The Locker Room November 15, 2006

The Pulaski County Cougars finished up the season this past Friday night. The gear is being turned in and packed up now, and it’s time to say thank you to some folks, and to say goodbye to some others.

Hello again Cougar Fans, and welcome back to the final regular weekly article of the season here at cougarfootball.net. I guess it goes without saying that this season has left a lot of folks confused and concerned. A 2-8 final record may be ok for some programs, but here at Pulaski County we have grown pretty used to winning.

For 27 years Pulaski County went without a losing regular season record. That’s quite an accomplishment. There aren’t too many teams at any level that can boast that type of a record. In that time, the Cougars have won 15 District Championships, 6 Region Championships, and 1 State Title. In addition to that, they also played for several other District Championships, made the playoffs 18 times, lost in 7 more Region Championship games, lost in three other State Semi-final games, and made appearances in two other State Championship games. All together, the Cougars have played in 40 playoff games since 1979, and have a 23-17 record.

As much as I know we would all like for this years edition of Cougar Football to have been more successful, it’s hard to overlook the overall success of the program. But now we have to ask ourselves why we haven’t the past few years with the Cougars?

A lot of people have made comments, posted messages on message boards, written letters to the paper, or made comments either in the stands or out and about in the community about what they see as the problem. While some of these people make valid points, I don’t know of too many people who see that the real problem is not any ONE thing.

Let me start this by saying that this is NOT a slam on anyone. I love this school, this program, and the kids and coaches associated with it. There are some things that are going on though that have brought us to this point though.

First and most obvious should be the fact that we just don’t have as many kids to pick from as we have had in the past. When I went to PCHS we had 2-3 kids in each locker, with locker banks in both the main building AND in the Tech Education building. Now, we don’t have that. We have some kids doubled up….not many mind you……and the only lockers we have are the ones in the main building. Bottom line is you have less FOOTBALL PLAYERS in a group of 1200 than you do in a group of 2000.

These are some pretty tough times in Pulaski County economically also. In the past few years, we have had several major employers close their doors to take their jobs overseas. Renfro closed, one of the foundries in Radford has closed, Pulaski Furniture first closed one of its plants after selling it to another company, then they had some layoffs in the Pulaski plant. Recently they laid off another 300 workers, and then announced that they will possibly be laying off another large group in the near future. Top that off with the fact that Volvo made the official announcement the other day that they will be laying off over a third of their current work force early next year. When these major employers go, then the smaller businesses that support them suffer as well. The trickle down effect has certainly affected the local economy, as you can clearly see any time with a ride through the Town of Pulaski.

The average age of a Pulaski County resident has went from being in the mid 30’s to being in the late 40’s over the past several years. One of the biggest problems is that the young people are being forced to move from this area to find the jobs that we’ve lost. People have to make a living, and unfortunately right now the jobs that most people are finding are away from our County.

So does this mean that Pulaski County is done for? I don’t think so, and while there may not be any big signs of help on the horizon, there are some signs that things may be changing a little for the better soon. While the Town of Pulaski is hurting right now, Dublin is showing some signs of growth. The area around the interstate is growing with the building of a new Walmart behind McDonalds, Bojangles is going to be open soon, and a new Arby's will be open in the near future also. There are new subdivisions springing up in several spots throughout Dublin also. Hopefully, our Town and County planners and officials can work together to get some new jobs into the area to help out also.

Until then, I plan to do the same thing that I have always done: support Pulaski County kids and Pulaski County programs that help kids in any way I can. Does that sound like something you might like to do also? I can promise you that if you contact Anthony Akers at the Pulaski County Office on Youth he will be more than happy to help find something for you to do. Between the Office on Youth, the Pulaski Community Partners Coalition, and the Recreation Departments throughout the county there are always positions that need filled. We need coaches, referees, tutors, and even people who just have an hour here and there to listen to a kid read a book.

Let me get off my soap box now, and get back to Cougar Football.

The Cougars played well this season, but they simply couldn’t get the breaks when they needed them to pull out the big wins. The Cougars lost eight games this season. They lost one 19-22. They lost one 14-20. They lost one 6-13. We lost a heartbreaker 35-41. We lost a game by 16 points, one by 20 points, one by 14 points, and we scored 14 points on the two time defending AA State Champions……the most points scored on them the entire season to this point.

I would like to take this time to thank each and every player who came out and worked his tail off this year. I was with you during the preseason, and you didn’t slack off for one minute. I was there when you started two a days, and you all worked your tails off in that August heat. You never gave up, and you never stopped trying. I thank you all for that.

For the seniors who are moving on, we wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do in the future. I know there will be some of you who go on to play at the next level. Do your best and make us proud. No matter what happens, no matter where you go, you will always be a part of the history of this program.

To the players coming back next season, work hard this off season and get ready to try to get a little payback next year. Good luck to everyone who is playing in other sports. If you haven’t done so yet, you should try to get out to some basketball, baseball, and soccer games this year. Some of the same kids that are playing football are the standouts in these other sports as well. Let's support them and ALL of the Pulaski County High School teams as they work towards glory this season.

Finally, I would like to thank Ken (Ardent Cougar) and Steven (CougarFan) for the opportunity to be involved with this site again this year. You would be hard pressed to find too many other high schools in the COUNTRY that have a web site for their football team that is an all encompassing and as informative as this one. It’s just one more piece of proof that this program is alive and well, and that the Cougar WILL BE BACK!!

Be sure to check back every so often for updates as we wait to see where some of the seniors decide to play their college football at. I’ll update the site as the information becomes available.

Until then, this is Cougardave signing off for another year.

I STILL BELIEVE IN THE COUGARS!!!

Cougars by the Numbers
by Ardent Cougar

The toughest season since before Joel came to town has now ended.

Players, you Seniors especially, keep your heads up.

Pulaski County has had so much success since 1979.

Yes, a non-losing regular season streak ends at 27.  All streaks end sometime.

There are times when, no matter what your best efforts are, the circumstances won't allow you to prevail.

About 9 months from today, another Cougar team will put on the pads, wear the jerseys, don the gold helmets, and get ready for another campaign.

I look forward to it.

Until next year, Cougar Fans.