The Cougars took the Bruins to the woodshed last week, and the Salem Spartans did the same against the Bassett Bengals to set up what is, without a doubt, the biggest game of the year in the eastern side of the state, and possibly all of Virginia as they battle for the Region IV Title. 

Hello again Cougar fans, and HOW ABOUT THEM COUGARS!!!!  Our Cougars went out last week against what Head Coach Jack Turner said was quite possibly "the most dangerous team" in AA football.  The Bruins came into the game healthy and with a full compliment of targets for quarterback Trey Gresh to work with, as well as a stable of quality running backs that should have been able to threaten the Cougar defense.  Instead, Pulaski County held the Bruins to 78 total yards of offense in what turned out to be a complete and total dominant performance.  The Bruins were held to 56 yards rushing, while standout quarterback Trey Gresh was held to only 4 of 15 passing for 22 yards, while having three of his passes intercepted by Pulaski defenders.  The Cougars put together a fine offensive effort, earning 329 yards rushing and 14 yards passing. 

OUTSTANDING JOB!!! 

Now the Cougars look towards their rematch with the Salem Spartans.  Salem also had a big game last week, as they dismantled Bassett by a score of 41-0.  During the game, I was sending and receiving text messages with Spartan faithful "Happy Spartan".  As soon as we would score, it seemed like only a minute or so and Salem would score.  It was a race to see who would get to a continuous clock first it seemed. 

I wouldn’t expect anything like that this week, no matter which team you might be pulling for. 

The Spartans are the defending Region IV Champions.  I said it at the start of the season, and I'll say it again now.  Until someone knocks the Spartans off the throne, they are the team to beat.  While Pulaski County was able to beat them in the first matchup, winning the River Ridge District Title and breaking Salem’s 23 game district winning streak, all that would taste kind of sour if the Cougars should fall in this game. 

Most Salem fans have given the Cougars their due this season.  Some, however, have not.   Comments along the lines of  "if you lose in the region and don’t make it to state...no one cares about some river ridge champs" and "Salem took it to the Cougars last time and will this time to".  It seems like Pulaski County just can’t seem to get any respect from some people.  That’s ok though, this team doesn't live by what people post on message boards on the Internet, they will earn their respect on the field. 

There has been alot of talk about the last time these two teams met.  One source at the school said there were 16,000 fans at the last game, and another tried to make me believe there were only 7,500 tickets sold.   I find both of those numbers a little hard to believe, and from the people I've spoken with we all are of the opinion that there were at least 12,000 fans in attendance.  I'm not sure what the weather will do to this game, but we could be looking at another huge gate as these two power house teams meet for the last time this season.  The last time there WAS one record set, however, and with a little luck we might even break that record this time.  The 50-50 at the last PC/Salem game was $3,615!!!  That would sure make Christmas a little nicer for someone!! 

Folks, I've never been one to hide who I pull for on this or any other site.  These kids, these coaches, and this program are all a part of this community that we live in.  There is nothing like a Friday night football game in Pulaski County.  It's what we look forward to each week in the fall.  It's that one thing that brings us all together.  There are some friends that I just don’t get to see except during football season, because we are all so busy with everyday life.  Cougar football brings us together though. 

This has been, and hopefully will continue to be a special season for the Cougars.  Let's get out there this Friday and make some noise for the Cougars as they fight for their first Region Title since 2001, and look to extend their record to 12-0.  It's COUGAR PRIDE TIME in Pulaski County!!! 

GO COUGARS!!!  BEAT THE SPARTANS!!!!