The Locker Room September 9, 2009

The Patrick Henry Patriots are coming to Dublin with a new head coach and a new attitude, as the Cougars look forward to walking down the 63 steps of Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium and Joel Hicks Field for the first time this season. 

Hello again Cougar fans, and welcome back to another week here at cougarfootball.net.  I'd like to start this week by congratulating both teams from last week on a well-played and hard fought effort.   While it would have been much nicer for us to see a Cougar win, our guys never gave up and fought their hearts out to the end.  It also gave the coaches a chance to once again grade out the players, and there have been some changes made in the positions and depth chart once again.  While nothing has been set in stone yet, rest assured that there have been some pretty good competitions this week in practice as players fight for playing time. 

One negative note that I would like to get out in the open, however, is about an incident that occurred on the sidelines during the PC/Northside contest.  You see there are certain rules that you are expected to follow when you're on the sidelines.  If you're a coach or a player, you stay inside of a certain area that keeps you out of the way of the officials and the chain crew.   There are also some unwritten rules that the officials expect you to follow, and most of them are simply common sense.  As a photographer, stat man, video guy, or writer, you are also expected to act professionally and not interfere in the game.   Apparently, that rule doesn't apply to you if you are a member of the senior leadership at Northside High School.  I, along with Pulaski County School Board member Dr. Roddell Cruise and a number of other people and players on the sidelines, were truly disappointed with the actions of the Northside principle who not only felt it was appropriate for he and his buddies to stand on the Cougar sideline during the game, but also felt it was ok to yell comments like "That's right...IN YOUR FACE!!" when the Vikings got a score. 

While I can understand his being on the Cougar side of the field to make certain there are no incidents, I certainly can't understand his need to be on our side of the field, cheering his team on and in effect coaching his schools players from our side of the field and yelling those type of comments within ten yards of our Cougar players and coaches.  When I confronted him and told him what a fine display of class he was presenting on behalf of his school, his reply was "I always stand over here" as if that somehow made his actions right.  All I can say is that I was certainly disappointed in his actions, and while it had no real bearing on the outcome of the game, it did put a small dark cloud over a hard fought win by the student athletes that he is supposed to set an example for. 

But enough about that, let's talk about our HOME GAME!!!   It's time to break out the grills, get the tailgate stuff ready, and get ready to see Skipper Duke and our Cougars walk down those steps for the first time this season as the Cougars play host to the Patrick Henry Patriots this Friday night in Dublin.  There is no better place to be on a Friday night in Dublin than Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.  End of story.   A Cougar home game is not only a football game, but it's a social event for the community.  It's about our football team, but it's also about our band and our cheerleaders.  It's about our Touchdown Club selling 50/50 tickets and the cheerleaders selling programs.  It's the rec. league kids standing at the bottom of the steps and the high school kids in the student section.  It's the smell of hot dogs and Band Booster barbecue.  It's all that and a whole lot more.....but mainly it's "US VERSUS THEM" just like it is at every other high school football game around the country, and that's just the way we like it. 

Pulaski County leads the series with Patrick Henry 23 games to 12.  The Cougars have won the last two meetings between the two teams, and since 1980 Pulaski County has won 23 out of 28 games.  The Patriots dominated the series in the first few years, as they won all seven of the games, including one playoff game, played between 1974 and 1979.  The Patriots come into the contest with a 1-1 record, having lost to Hidden Valley in week one by a final of 44-14, and then defeating Bassett in week two 21-11. 

The Patriots, a AAA Division 5 team, come into the 2009 season with a new vision for the future under new Head Coach Brad Bradley.  Last season was a tough one for Patrick Henry, and with Bradley coming into the mix the Patriots have installed a new spread offense that features multiple receivers and multiple looks.  PH only returns one full time starter on offense from last season, but with the offense they are running now they are dangerous.  Quarterback Matt Wood (#12) is a 6'/202 pound sophomore that is leading the offense, along with a score of quick and hungry receivers.  The offensive line is not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but they play well together and are learning their jobs well.  One thing you will immediately notice when you see the roster is that this team only has nine seniors on it.  Expect big things from the Bradley led Patriots in the near future. 

Defensively you can expect to see Patrick Henry line up in a 5-3 look most of the time, which is new for them also.  The Patriots also return only one full time starter on defense, but look to be a hungry group that wants to hit and tackle.  The Patrick Henry kicking game may be one of the most stable  and improved parts of the PH game at this point of the season, and their kicker has made all of his PAT attempts to this point. 

So what do the Cougars need to do to win.  "It's simple...we have to play 48 minutes of Cougar Football" said Head Coach Jack Turner.  "We can't sit around and worry about having a bump or bruise on our arm, we have to go out and hit, we have to go out and tackle, and we have to go out and block.  We cannot make the mistakes we've made so far this season, and we have to make the most of the other teams mistakes.  I'm also calling out our seniors to take charge and start leading this team.  We've got a lot of younger players who are hungry to get into the action, and that’s great.  But we need senior leadership.  That's on and off the field.  They have to make sure we are focused and ready.  As coaches we can get the plan together and set them up to be successful, but we need the players to do what we've coached them to do.  We need to come together now and play like I know they can.  If we do that, then we'll be successful." 

If you haven't seen it, there has been alot of talk on Internet message boards this last two weeks about certain Cougar players.  Some say that with these players the effort is not there, or maybe that there are ego issues causing them to not step it up the way they should.  Myself, I try not to get too involved in that, because I see how hard these kids work in practice.  I've been there and seen the work they've put in during the off-season.  I know they WANT to win.  What some of them are going to need to do though is reach down and pull out just a little bit more.  If it were my name getting thrown around on these message boards, I would take it a little personal.  I'd use that as just a little extra fuel to kick my game up some more.  I'd take the criticism and shove it right back in their faces by giving 110%, leaving no doubt that as a player you deserve not only their support, but their respect.  Personally, I find a lot of these Internet blowhards that hide behind a computer screen to be cowardly fair weather fans that have never spent a minute of their life doing something positive to help the kids out, but I guess if you pay your $6 that gives you a right to question every decision made by the coaches even though you've never stepped foot on a football field .  Oh wait.....it doesn't. 

Either way, this Friday night at 7:30 the Cougars and the Patriots will face off in what should be a fine home opener.  Be sure to stop by the Stadium Club on your way in and get some of their fine Cougar gear, and let's pack those stands as the kids in cardinal and gold look to add another one to the win column.  It's Friday night in Pulaski County, and I can’t think of any place I'd rather be!! 

GO COUGARS!!  BEAT THE PATRIOTS!!!