Pulaski County had a short week to prepare after a Monday game to face our New River Valley neighbors in Christiansburg on Saturday, and the Cougars are hoping that the Blue Demons are still getting over Halloween.

Hello again Cougar fans, and welcome back to another week here at cougarfootball.net. Man!!! What a game!!! It’s a tough thing to lose a game in the final two minutes or so, but I guess there must have been something in the water this past week. First Virginia Tech plays an outstanding game and has a ten point lead late in the fourth quarter, only to have Boston College storm back in the final two minutes to score two touchdowns and steal victory out of the jaws of defeat. Then, with a comfortable lead late in the game, the Cougars see their win slip away as the Bruins manage to score twice in the final 3:22 of the game.

If nothing else, I will promise you this……the Pulaski County Cougars coaching staff or administration won't make a blanket statement about it’s fan base the way Virginia Techs Bud Foster did this week.

And while I didn’t like the tone that Foster took in his article, I will give him credit for doing something that a lot of people often fail to do. He gave CREDIT to Boston College for making the big plays when they needed too, and complimented the quarterback for leading his team to victory. He also made it clear that his team played a fine game, played their hearts out, and executed the plan that the coaching staff had laid out for them.

Sometimes, the other team just wins and you don’t. It doesn’t mean that you didn’t work hard, and it doesn’t mean that you weren’t prepared. One team won, one team lost. In a Pulaski/Blacksburg rematch, it could be either teams game to win again. With a little luck, we could possibly get the chance to see that game……

Either way, it’s time to get ready to head to Christiansburg for what looks, on paper at least, to be a pretty good game. The Blue Demons are currently 5-3 on the season. They have wins over Graham (34-14), Giles (43-13), Patrick Henry (23-7), Radford (28-12), and Cave Spring (30-7). The Blue Demons have suffered losses at the hands of a powerful Bassett team (34-38), district leader Salem (0-35), and Hidden Valley (27-35). Christiansburg has a fast paced offense that, with the exception of the Salem shutout, has scored plenty of points in each game. Defensively they have allowed some points to be scored. They seem to count on their offense to outpace the other team to get the win. Fun football to watch from a fans point of view……..IF you’re a Christiansburg Blue Demon fan.

Pulaski County leads the series between the two teams 6 wins to 2, but the Blue Demons have won the last two. Two years ago, the Blue Demons shocked the Cougars at Christiansburg in a dominating 49-6 blow out win. Prior to that, the Cougars had outscored the Blue Demons 292 points to 51 over a six game series. Last year, Pulaski and Christiansburg faced each other in another Saturday game, and the Cougars came out on the short end of a 35-41 slugfest. Two years in a row the Blue Demons have owned the Cougars. Two years in a row we have had to accept defeat at the end of the game.

Everyone who would like to see a change in this pattern, please raise your right hand and repeat after me…….

I believe they can.

On Tuesday, the Dublin Cowboys defeated the Christiansburg Gold Demons 20-0 to win the New River Valley Junior League Championship. That was the first game that the Gold Demons had lost in three years, from what some of their fans have told me. On Thursday, the Cougar junior varsity team defeated the Blue Demon junior varsity team 13-6. It took a defensive stand late in the game to seal the deal, but they did it.

I BELIEVE………

Pulaski County will have to once again play a complete game to win it. The offense will have to be clicking on all cylinders, the defense will have to be hard and tough, special teams will have to do its job, and we cannot make mistakes. Penalties and fumbles must not be. We have some team leaders who have emerged, but we need two or three more to step up and help take charge of this team. Could it be another running back? A defensive player? Maybe a young sophomore fighting for some playing time? Cougar players…..give us a reason to put you on the highlight film!!

While the coaches have told the team not to look ahead and to remain focused on the task at hand, we can't help but look at what COULD happen IF the Cougars can pull this win off. If the Cougars can win, then they most likely will make the playoffs. Who they will face would still be up in the air, but it would most likely put them in the post season. I for one don’t like the idea of having to depend on power points to get us in, but with Salem currently undefeated, winning the River Ridge District may be a tall order…..as usual. A couple of past opponents getting wins over the next two weeks would also help greatly, but the bottom line is that there are only two ways to make the playoffs for certain. You can either win the district title, or in Pulaski Counties case, win the next two games. A tough task to be certain, but I believe in this team.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is pretty much the unofficial start of the playoffs for the Cougars. With that, the team will be cranked up that much more than normal. I can only hope that we as fans will rise to that challenge as well. It’s time to pull out all the stops now. Cowbells gone wild!! Horn-apolooza!! Ten Thousand Cougar Flags Over Montgomery County!!! Any signs would be great, and I'm sure the cheerleaders would help you get them up on the fence.  The Cougar Crazies have the opportunity to show their stuff in an afternoon game with the sun still shining!! It should be 60 degrees, mostly sunny, with some not to heavy winds. IT IS TIME TO CRANK THIS BABY UP!!!

YOUR PULASKI COUNTY COUGARS ARE PLAYING A PLAYOFF GAME THIS SATURDAY AT CHRISTIANSBURG HIGH SCHOOL!!! Let's get out there and let this team know we’re behind them, and that we support them!! Kickoff is at 3:00, if you want to get a seat I would recommend getting there a little early or you may find yourself standing around the fence. Come on out, pull for the team, make some noise, and eat some of those Christiansburg Booster Club hotdogs that are SOOOOOOOOOO good!!

It’s Cougar Football Time Pulaski County!! Let’s go make some noise!!

GO COUGARS!!

BEAT THE BLUE DEMONS!!!

I BELIEVE!!!