The Pulaski County Cougars have finished up their 2007 season with a first round loss in the Region IV Division 4 playoffs, but even with that loss the future looks good for the Cougar Football program.

Hello again Cougar Fans, and welcome back to another week here at cougarfootball.net. This will be the final regular weekly story for the season, but we will be posting updates on what’s going on with the players who are moving on, as well as what’s going on with the players who will make up the 2008 rendition of the Cougars.

I’d just like to take a few minutes to talk about the season, some of the changes we saw this year, and how some of the players on this team did individually this season.

First of all, the Pulaski County Cougars football team had a fine season. Seven wins and four losses, one of those a playoff loss, is a season that you can always see as a positive thing. But to have that record after the way things went in the 2006 season is even more impressive.

This group could have just said to heck with it and given up, but they didn’t. They finished the 2006 season and immediately went into the off season workout program. The 2007 Cougars were not only stronger than most recent teams, but for the most part they were faster too. On top of the improvements in the weight room and on the agility drill mat, there were some other new things added in to help improve parts of the game plan.

The 2007 season saw the Cougar football program enter in it’s first ever 7-on-7 camps, and the results of this were obvious early. Quarterback Shay Dunnigan finished the regular season completing 46 of 89 passes, for a total of 801 yards. He had a 51.69% completion rate, with 7 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions. To put that in perspective, these numbers move Shay into second place for most passing yards in a season, and third place for most yards passing in a career (1267 yards). He missed tying Randy Meredith's single season record by 30 yards, and missed tying Tim Venable's career passing yardage record by 168 yards.

There was another player who got his name in the record books this season as well. Nubian Peak moved into sixth place for most yards rushing in a season (regular season only) with his 1,349 yard effort. Nubian is also now in fourth place for most rushing yards in a game with his 254 yard effort this year against Christiansburg. He has also move into ninth place overall for career rushing yards with a total of 2,237 yards. Nubian needs 2,177 yards to move into first place. A tall order, to be certain, and while this may be asking a bit much, it sure will be fun seeing just how many yards Mr. Peak can get next season. Finally, Nubian is the new leader for most offense in a single game (297 yard…254 rushing, 43 receiving), and has moved to a 14^th place three way tie with former Cougar and current Akron Zip Brandon Anderson and former Cougar Jeremy Porter with 132 points.

The Cougars were not shutout the entire season. The Cougars scored over twenty points in 8 of their games. The Cougars scored over thirty points in four of their games. The Cougars scored over forty in two of their games. On the defensive side, the Cougars allowed over twenty points in three games this season, and held three opponents to 7 points or less. During their three regular season losses, the Cougars lost those three game by a total of 13 points.

Not too bad at all.

Unfortunately though, the season has come to an end. On Monday afternoon all the helmets and pads were turned in, lockers were cleaned out, and Coach Turner had a talk with the young men who had come together this season to put together such a fine performance. He thanked them for their hard work and dedication, and he thanked the assistant coaches who helped turn this program back onto the right path.

Immediately following all that, he went to the film room to get started on next season.

The Cougars lose some valuable players to graduation next season. To all of those seniors, I would just like to take a moment to say thank you for your time, your hard work, and your dedication to this program. While your time in a gold helmet may have ended, you will always be a part of the Cougar family, and a part of you will always remain in that field house.

To the young men who will be back, the expectations will be higher next season. While we do lose a lot of players, we also have a lot back. Hit the weights, hit the books, hit the track, and don’t forget how you felt in that locker room at the end of the game last Friday night.

The end of the season is always a tough time, because you always wonder “what if we had done this” or “what if maybe we had run this play” or something like that. You always second guess things, I guess it’s just a part of human nature. One thing I don’t have to second guess though, is the dedication and commitment to this program that this sites owner, “Cougar Fan”, has. Since the first year of it’s existence, this site has grown and continued to add features and enhancements. I spend a lot of time on the internet, and I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever seen a COLLEGE site, let alone a high school site, that is more all encompassing or informative than this one right here. Steve, you do a heck of a job buddy, and in case you didn’t realize it this site is a huge asset to not only the fans, but to the players as well. The hours you put into maintaining this site are not unnoticed, and they are greatly appreciated. Also, I’d like to thank Ardent Cougar for getting me involved with this stuff in the first place. You’re a good guy Ken, even if you do cheat at pool.

Also, I'd like to give a thank you to Rick Watson.  Big Dog, you do a fine job calling the games for Pulaski County.  Hopefully we can see that continue for years to come.  We have plenty of spam and chicken, and besides you still owe me a shirt!!!

So another year is in the books.

It has been my pleasure to visit with you all each week, and in case no one has ever invited you to come out, let me be the first to invite you all out to support a lot of these same young men as the Pulaski County Cougars basketball season gets underway soon. Both the boys basketball team and the girls basketball teams are coming off of seasons that saw them playing deep into the Region IV playoffs, and I’m sure that Coach Hanks and Coach King would love to have as many of you out on game nights as possible to make some noise for these teams. Hey, the hotdogs are good inside too………

Be sure to check back every now and then as we post information about Cougar players who make their college choices, as well as other developments with the Cougar football program. Until then, this is David “Cougardave” Gravely wishing you all the best, and one more time yelling…..

GO COUGARS!!!

BEAT EVERYBODY!!!