CougarDave Corner Jefferson Forest Preview by CougarDave
The Pulaski County Cougars return to the friendly confines of Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium this week, as they prepare to take on a strong and ready Jefferson Forest Cavaliers football team. Hello again Cougar Fans, and welcome back to week five of the season, and another week here at cougarfootball.net. Due to the game being delayed to Saturday, I was unable to make it because of a previous commitment. NEW RULE: DON’T SCHEDULE ANYTHING ON SATURDAYS DURING FOOTBALL SEASON FROM NOW ON!!! Our Cougars had a rough start to last weeks game against Franklin County, but they showed some true grit and determination as they mounted a great comeback and took the lead late in the game. While it would have been great to win, the positive thing about this game was that the Cougars showed that they can stand up and go toe to toe with a big, fast, and strong team. It would have been very easy to give up when they were down 14-0 at the half, but they didn’t. The coaches went in at halftime, made their adjustments, and the team went out and went to work. I’m proud of this team and the coaches for the way they worked Saturday night, and you all should be too. As much as I hated to miss the game, it did bring back some fond memories of when I was away in the Army to listen to the game on the radio. I used to call home of Friday nights when I was stationed in Alaska and have my parents hold the phone up to the radio as the Cougars would play. Rick Watson does a fine job putting out a mental picture of what’s going on out on the field. Keep up the great work Rick! So now we look ahead to this coming week, as the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers come into town with a fine 2-1 record. They have wins over Staunton River (21-0) and Rockbridge County (7-6), who we saw action against in the TD Classic this season and last. Their one loss on the season came last week at the hands of E.C. Glass (17-23). The Cavaliers are strong this season, with a good core of players returning from last seasons 7-3 team. Expect them to have decent size, good speed, and good coaching. The Cougars lead the series over Jefferson Forest 2 games to 0. Anyone that was there last season will never forget the thrilling, emotional win the Cougars pulled out over the Cavaliers last season. As I’m sure most people will realize, this week marks one year since the passing of one of the most positive, caring, and sincere men to ever walk through the halls of Pulaski County High School or any other school in this county. On September 15, 2006, the Cougars faced the Franklin County Eagles. That night, Ken Dobson went home and began to suffer from chest pains. Later that next morning, Coach Dobson passed away from a heart attack. That Monday, the football team, the coaches, and the community gathered together to mourn and grieve together over the loss of such a fine gentleman. “Mr. D” was the man who threw some of the first handfuls of grass seed onto what is now the field that Pulaski County plays on each week. The stadium that we gather at each week is named in his honor. He helped countless young men and women as they went through the Pulaski County School System. Not only did he help them by being a positive leader in education, but he tried to teach them about right and wrong in life. I’ve never met a person who had a bad word to say about Ken Dobson, and these days that says a lot. For anyone who was there that Friday night when the Cougars defeated Jefferson Forest on the strength of Ben Buckland's three field goals, the scene after the game was one most will never forget. There were tears from even the biggest and strongest members of the team, and I’m not ashamed to say there were some tears from my eyes as well.
In honor of the memory of Kenneth J. Dobson and the positive lessons that he taught his entire life, the children of Pulaski County pulled together last season in an attempt to support the team and this community. “We Believe” became the rally cry, and the elementary school kids pulled together and made thousands of index cards with that slogan on it. Some were simple, some were not, but they all had one underlying message “We Believe in the Cougars”. This season, they are at it again. The kids of each Pulaski County elementary school are busy putting together banners to let the team know that they believe in them and support them. Friday night is also recreation league recognition night, as each and every Pulaski County recreation league football team and cheerleader will be recognized before kickoff. Those same kids are the ones making the banners. Expect to see one of the biggest human chains ever at the bottom of those steps this coming Friday night, as the Pulaski County Cougars take the field against the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers in what should be one heck of a football game. I expect to hear cowbells going wild, the train horn will be blaring, the band will be pumping out “2001”, and with a little luck we might even be able to bring back the COUGAR GROWL over the intercom!!! I’ll bring it, now it’s just going to be up to PA man John Freeman to play it. It’s time to make some noise folks!! Let’s get that stadium packed this Friday night, kickoff time is at 7:30. GO COUGARS!!! BEAT THE CAVALIERS!!!
Man. To come back from 20-0
down, all in one quarter. Then to take the lead. If only we could have
stopped that last drive of theirs. If only we could have
stuffed that two point conversion. If only that field goal
attempt would have went just a little more to the left. One team has to win, one
team has to lose. This time, we did not
scrape by. It was both heartbreaking,
and encouraging. We faced true adversity for
the first time this season. After the Eagles took the
2nd Half kickoff and scored in a handful of plays, things did not look
good at all. I have not done any
research, but I believe we have never lost a game after having come
back from 20 down. I also believe we have
never lost a game in which we scored 27 unanswered points. I won't go into an
evaluation of what we need to work on. I want to say this: We're proud of you. We are proud of the way you
did not fold, when things were not going your way. At the end, a game that
once looked virtually hopeless, was a coin flip. We called heads, and it was
tails. It happens. At least it was not a
district game. As disappointed as we are
to not get the win, it was a great comeback, which was not
appropriately rewarded. There are 7 regular season
games to go. Of those, 5 are district games - the ones that will
really make the difference. Don't dwell on what could
have been, what might have been. Learn the lessons from this
game. Then move on. We're just getting started.
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