The Locker Room September 2, 2009

The Pulaski County Cougars are spending some quality time in practice this week correcting their mistakes from last week's win over Radford, and they are hoping to beat the odds as they go into this week's game on the road against the Northside Vikings as the underdogs. 

Hello again Cougar Fans, and welcome back to another week here at cougarfootball.net.  It's been a pretty busy week for everybody this week, with rec. league and middle school football all going into full swing.  I did have a chance to take a look at the upcoming game though, and folks I hate to say this, but the Cougars have got their work cut out for them. 

First of all, let's take a look at the history of this rivalry.  Pulaski County and Northside have been playing since 1974, and there have been some real doozies.  Of the 28 times these two teams have played, eleven games have been decided by ten points or less.  Ten of those have been decided by a touchdown or less, and out of those ten there have been five decided by a field goal or less.  There is one game listed in our "Greatest Games" list, which is the 1979 game.  It was the first year for Head Coach Joel Hicks, and the Cougars trailed most of the game 0-7.  With time running out, Pulaski fumbled the ball at the Northside one yard line, only to have the Vikings fumble the ball back to them.  Pulaski scored on the next play with a short pass, and then converted the two point conversion to take the lead.  Pulaski intercepted the ball on a long pass play to end the game with an 8-7 Cougar win.  Pulaski leads this series 17 games to 9, with the Cougars winning the last four meetings between the two teams. 

Northside, which is coached by Coach Burt Torrence, was able to start off their 2009 season in convincing fashion last week with a 28-6 pounding of the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers.  The Vikings are returning a veteran team that finished 2008 with a 6-6 record, and they are expected to win their district, most likely win their region, and most "experts" feel they will go deep into the State Playoffs at the least. 

To say they have speed would be an understatement at best, as they have three out of four members of the State Champion 4 x 100 relay team in their offensive package.  The Vikings run a rocket offense much like the one they ran last season, with the hopes that they can use that speed to wear out opposing defenses.  They are led by senior quarterback #11 Ryan Keith, with senior fullback #5 Phillip Scott in the backfield.  Senior running back #25 Dustin Phelps and junior running back #7 Wardel Penn-Timity will be at the X and Z back positions.  Offensive lineman #55 Nick Sigmon, who tips the scales at 6'2"/236 pounds looks to be one of their better linemen, but in short yardage situations the Vikings bring in the beef...in the form of 5'10"/348 pound senior lineman #73 A.J. Johnson.   Northside is not afraid to either run or pass the ball. 

Defensively, the Vikings are big inside and have that same type of speed to get to the ball.  Their secondary is fast and they all seem to tackle well.  They play a physical brand of football, and they like to hit.  If there is a weakness to be found, it would be that they have seven players that go both ways.  That same speed that they are counting on for offense and defense will server them just as well on special teams, as the Vikings will most likely bring the pressure to block punts and kicks every time.  Their punter and their kicker are back from last season, giving them stability at those spots. 

With a little luck, senior offensive and defensive line standout Josh Lambert should be back this Friday, but he has been off his feet with a bad high ankle sprain since the Tazewell scrimmage.  His return could certainly help make the Cougars stronger on both sides of the line.  While we're talking about injured Cougars, I'd like to send a special shout out to junior Chad Perry.  Chad was injured in the Tazewell scrimmage also, and had surgery last week to repair a broken fibula.  He also had a dislocated ankle and all of the ligaments in his ankle were torn.  Chad is one of those hard working kids that you hate to see go down.  I've watched him since his rec. league days, and one thing is for sure....he'll be back. 

Folks, it's gonna be a tough game, and it's gonna take a real team effort for the Cougars to go in and take this one.  With that said, however, the Cougars CAN beat Northside.  "Our success or failure will depend on how hard we are willing to work, and how well we are willing to perform on Friday night" said Head Coach Jack Turner.  "Our kids are going to have to show up ready to play Cougar football.  First, we can't make any of the mistakes we made last week.  We can't have the penalties and we can't have the cramps like we did last week.  Our kids are going to have to take care of themselves off the field and drink plenty of water and eat right.  We will have to take care of the ball, and last but not least we have to play hungry and play together.  We need to have a little attitude about us, because there  is no doubt we are the underdogs in everybody's eyes here." 

After the success of last season, Cougar fans may not like to hear that, but at this point it is a fact.  Pulaski County is a young team that is learning the ropes as they go.  There are some seniors on the team at key spots, but there are alot of younger players starting at this point as well.  Those younger players are doing a fine job, but they are still learning.  We also have some seniors who have never started before in the mix.  Last week against Radford we had 18 players who had never started a varsity game in the lineup.  For some of those players, it was their first varsity game PERIOD.   Walking out onto the field at Radford in front of what was....contrary to some reports of 10,000 fans.....6,000 to 7,000 screaming fans and two bands playing in an enclosed space was an awe inspiring event.  I think it was a good thing for our young kids to see that early.  Hopefully we'll see crowds like that or bigger all season. 

In case nobody has ever done so, let me be the first to invite you to hit the road with the Cougars on Friday night as they travel to Northside High School.  It's a really easy school to find.  Head up I-81 towards Roanoke, and get off on I-581.  Take the first exit you come too, and then take the first right turn off of that exit to get to the school.  It's not the biggest field around, but there is something about Northside's field that I've always kind of liked.  It's a good high school field.  You can hear the fans and you can hear the bands.  The hot dogs are pretty good too, and there are usually some folks out doing a little tailgating in the parking lot.  Kickoff is set for 7:30, and one teams dreams of a perfect season will come to an end early. 

It's Friday night, and I can't think of any place I'd rather be.  Let's get out and make some noise to support our Cougars!! 

GO COUGARS!!  BEAT THE VIKINGS!!!