The Cougar football team is ready to begin River Ridge District action this Friday as they play host to the Hidden Valley Titans. They will do that with the best start to a season since 2004 and a bulls eye on their chest.

Hello again Cougar fans, and welcome back to another week at cougarfootball.net. The boys from beside the big cornfield have made a name for themselves so far this season, and that success is starting to get them some attention. This weeks AP Polls are out, and the Cougars are the #2 ranked AA team in the State behind the Brookville Bees.

How do the Cougar coaches feel about that? “Polls are great, but the only thing we’re worried about is this weeks game.” said Head Coach Jack Turner. “That’s what we are focused on, and that’s what we need our kids focused on. If we’re ranked #1 after the last game of the season, then we’ll celebrate.”

One thing the Cougars can be happy about is their VHSL Power Points rating. The Cougars are currently #1 in Region 4 with 26.4 points. The Salem Spartans are in second place with a 24.6 rating, while the Blacksburg Bruins find themselves in third with a 22.8 rating. Christiansburg sits at fourth place with a 22.0 rating. Bringing up the rest of Region 4 are Bassett (21.3), Carroll County (17.2), Hidden Valley (13.4), Abingdon (13.2), and Magna Vista (11.7).

Pulaski County gets a chance to further advance their chances for a playoff spot this week as they start their River Ridge District schedule. The Hidden Valley Titans are, it would seem, this years team that is right on the edge of success. The Titans bring a 1-4 record into Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium this coming Friday night, but of those four losses, the biggest deficit was a 9 point loss. They have had a one point loss to William Byrd, a three point loss to Bassett, their nine point loss was to Rustburg, and they have a seven point loss to Northside. Their one win this season was over the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers, which they won 36-30.

It would seem on paper like the Cougars should walk away with this one easily. “Anyone who thinks that doesn’t watch much high school football” said Coach Turner. “A win over Pulaski County would make Hidden Valley a contender again. It would put them back in the race. Remember, if you win your district, it doesn’t matter how many power points you have, your in. We cannot get caught looking past the Titans. Our kids are going to have to walk down those steps on Friday night and do the work if they want the win.”

The Cougars lead the series with Hidden Valley 3-2. The craziest thing about this series is the fact that each year, the home team has lost the game, and it’s been in big fashion. Hopefully, that streak will end this Friday night.

Pulaski County, in it’s first five games of the season, has accomplished some pretty good things. On offense, the Cougars have rushed the ball 230 times for 1,270 yards. The Cougars have earned 91 first downs. The Cougars are 19 of 32 passing for 317 yards. That’s an average of just over 63 yards passing per game and 254 yards rushing per game. The Cougars have turned the ball over three times, while the Cougars have scored 166 points.

On defense, the Cougars have forced nine turnovers, while only allowing 36 first downs, most of those coming in the second halves of the games well after the issue had been decided. Through five games, the Cougars have given up 266 rushing yards on 134 attempts, 387 passing yards on 72 attempts, and a grand total of 48 total points. That’s right, 48 points in five games.

As for individual efforts to take notice of, there are several worth mentioning. Virginia Tech verbal commit Nubian Peak is on pace to break 1,000 yards this season, as he has rushed 61 times for 506 yards, averaging just over 101 yards per game. Keep in mind, Coach Turner has pulled him early in most of these games, so hopefully the best is still yet to come. Quarterback Luke Watson has accounted for all of the passing yardage for the Cougars so far this season, and he has also shown a pretty nice set of legs a time or two when he has been called upon to run the ball. Luke currently has 20 rushes for 81 yards. Watson has thrown the ball to eight different Cougar receivers this season, throwing one touchdown and one interception. Scoring wise, Peak leads the way with ten touchdowns, while Seth Parris has five touchdowns of his own. E.J. Dobbins has also contributed four touchdowns to the cause, while kicker Matt Songer is 17 of 22 on his PAT attempts and 1 for 4 on his field goal attempts.

On defense, junior Tahrick Peak is leading the way in tackles with 56, while thirteen other Cougars are in double digits. Senior safety Zane Quesenberry is looking to make his own dent in the record books. Zane currently has four interceptions this season. The record stands at eight, and is held by three other former Cougars (Steve Alley, 1987; Andre Eaves, 1992; Alan Wheeling, 2000).

All those number are great, but the bottom line is that for Pulaski County to beat the Hidden Valley Titans, they will have to do four things well. “We have to hit hard, we have to block hard, we have to run hard, and we have to make good tackles“ said Coach Turner. “If we can do those four things, then I like this teams chances. If we take a play or a series off, Hidden Valley might just get to put us in a bad place.”

Game time for Friday nights game is 7:30. If you’ve never been invited before, allow me to be the first to invite you to come out to Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium and Joel Hicks Field this Friday night and support our local kids and coaches.

GO COUGARS!!! BEAT THE TITANS!!