Cougars Show Sparks In Scrimmage
By David Gravely

Pulaski County saw its first action of the season today as the hosted the Bluefield Beavers in a working scrimmage.  The Cougars looked a little rough around the edges, but there were definitely signs of good things to come. 

The JV team got things started off with a scrimmage on the upper field.  The Cougars took the ball for the first ten plays, and the going was rough to start.  Pulaski moved the ball a little, but a few bad snaps and an aggressive Beaver defense kept Pulaski from moving the ball very far.  Bluefield found the going tough also, as the younger Cougars looked very impressive on defense.  In the end, the Beavers weren't very far from where they started after ten plays.  Things kept going that way for a bit both ways, as the teams alternated first and second teams along with backups to try to get as many kids as possible into the action.  Pulaski scored first on a long run, but the Beavers were able to get a score shortly after that on a fumble recovery that was run in for the touchdown.  After going back and forth a few more times, the teams went into a goal line drill.  Each team was given four plays to score from the five yard line.  Pulaski was caught short on Bluefield's first drive, as they only had ten men on the field.  The Beavers scored twice.  Pulaski put in a solid effort during their turn, however, and ended up with seven total touchdowns to Bluefield's three.    The Cougars scored on the ground and in the air. 

Oh, and in case you hadn't heard it already, the same coaches that coach the JV team are your varsity coaches. 

The varsity contest was again more of a working practice than a true game type setup.  Bluefield, with an extra weeks practice and a scrimmage or two under their belts already, looked good but Pulaski held their own.   I'm not sure what the final score ended up at, because I got caught up watching all the fun on the field.  I saw at least three different players lined up as quarterback, several different players lined up as backs and wings, and lots of different receivers (for those who are unfamiliar with that term....it means a player who's job is to line up OUTSIDE of the linemen, usually near the hash marks or further out, and sometimes they CATCH the ball as it sails through the air).  I know Bluefield scored at least three times and Pulaski scored once. 

So, what did we see tonight? 

At around the middle of the scrimmage, a strange thing started to happen.  Bluefield looked tired, Pulaski didn't.   The Beaver linebackers were standing with their hands on their knees, huffing and puffing, and one Beaver player started to dry heave.  The Cougars looked to be in VERY good physical condition.  In fact, there were several times when IF it were a true game situation, the other team would NOT have been ready for the next play.  Pulaski was fresh at the start of the scrimmage, and at the end they were still ready to keep going. 

Cougar fans....good things are going to happen with this football team.   This team is starting to believe in themselves, they believe in their coaches, and they look like a TEAM.  Pulaski County may not win every game they play this season, but if they can come out and play tonight like they did with the limited amount of practices that they've had, I can only imagine how things are going to look by the end of the season.   With the limited amount of practice time they have had, the Cougars passed the ball, they ran the ball, and they did it smoothly most of the time. 

This team is excited, and they are exciting to watch.  Now the coaches will go to work on breaking down the scrimmage results, and start putting together a plan for next week and the "Battle of the Bridge".    I saw some of the Radford Bobcats there tonight.  They had just finished up their scrimmage with Jefferson Forest, who they shut out. 

If you're wanting a good seat on Friday....you may want to get there early.  More to come on that later. 

Congrats to the Cougars and Coach Todd Jones on putting together what looks to be a quality product in a very short amount of time.  Now lets fill up that stadium next week and let the boys know we're behind them. 

IT'S PULASKI vs. RADFORD TIME!!!  GO COUGARS!!  BEAT THE BOBCATS!!!