Game
Article In the big scheme of
things, one game usually doesn't mean a lot. For Pulaski County,
however, one game was all that mattered Friday night as they fought their
way to a 43-42 triple overtime win over the Patrick Henry Patriots. For some people, football
is just another sport, but that's just not the way it is here in Pulaski
County. Here, the hopes and dreams of almost an entire
community rest in the hands of a group of young men who put on gold
helmets each fall. We don't have a lot of "things" here in
Pulaski. We don't have a mall, we don't have skating rink, sometimes
it seems we don't have much of anything in the way of entertainment.
All that changes in the fall though. Friday nights are COUGAR
FOOTBALL nights. Our team has been hurting
for a while. We suffered through a 2-8 season last year, then in the
off season lost a coach and the team was heavily sanctioned by the VHSL.
The kids just kept working. We got a new coach who came in with a
whole new game plan. Some people were excited and some people
weren't. The kids just kept working. We had our practices cut
and were only allowed one scrimmage. The kids just kept working.
In that scrimmage our starting quarterback broke a bone in his hand.
The kids kept on working. We lost the Battle of the Bridge in a
close game. The kids kept on working. We were beaten badly by
Northside and only gained 52 yards of offense, but once again....the kids
just kept on working. This past week I heard
several people talking about the Cougars. "Our kids just aren't
ready yet." "Our kids aren't used to the new system
yet." "We don't have the talent that Patrick Henry has,
there is no way we can compete with them." "Pulaski County
is just not good enough, and they've had too many things go against them
to be able to win this season." I'm really glad that the
kids in those gold helmets were able to prove those people wrong, for at
least one week. Make no mistakes about it,
this is not a "Pulaski County will now return to dominance and rule
the world" story. The Cougars still have a lot of areas to
improve in and a lot of things to work on. We still need to tackle
better, we still need to block better, we still need to hold on to the
ball better. Our centers still need to continue to improve on
getting the ball to the quarterback, the quarterbacks still need to
continue learning the new system, and the defense needs to attack the ball
better. We could most likely look at the game film today and find a
hundred things that Pulaski County needs to do better, and I'm sure the
coaches have done just that. You cannot expect to give up 42 points
and win on a regular basis. You cant expect to give up 246
yards rushing and 119 yards passing and expect to win week in and week
out. But....this week we did. At the end of regulation,
the score was tied at 22, and the Cougars had just blown a chance to put
the game away when they couldn't convert on a fourth and short deep inside
Patriot territory. The kids didn't quit though. Pulaski came
out and scored in a couple of plays to take the lead, but the Patriots
answered one play later to tie it up again. Patrick Henry got the
ball first in the second overtime and put it in with a seven yard run to
take the lead, and then they held Pulaski County for three plays. It
looked like the Cougars might come up short in a great effort, but they
didn't. On fourth and ten Chad Perry sent the ball to the waiting
hands of Rick Cobbs, who fought through two PH tacklers to get the ball
into the endzone and send it into another overtime. Perry capped off
his amazing night with a ten yard run off the left side of the line for a
ten yard touchdown, putting Pulaski up 43-36 after the PAT. The
Patriots answered, and then it happened. Patrick Henry coach Brad
Bradley made the decision to go for two points and the win. He had a
stellar kicker on the sidelines who had been true all night, but he made
the decision to end it right there. He had been successful all night
moving the ball on the ground, and he was confident that he could get the
three yards needed to secure the win. And then it happened. The Patriot running back
took the ball to the left side of the field as he had done all night and
headed to the goal line three yards away. Pierce Rigney got there
first, then came Cody Long. The running back kept pushing, at one
time getting a surge forward going, but then came the rest of the gold
helmets. Patrick Henry suddenly found themselves about a yard and a
half short, with eleven gold helmets standing up and saying enough is
enough. The whistle blew, the play was dead. Pulaski County
had found a way. The sideline emptied
quickly, the stands erupted, the coaches raised their hands in victory and
thanks. I do believe I even saw big tough guy Randy Dunnigan let out
a sigh of relief as the Pulaski County Cougars got their first win of the
season, their first win under Head Coach Todd Jones, and their first win
since September 11th of the previous year....ten long games ago.
Jones walked off the field with tears in his eyes, and all he could say
was "We did it.....we did it....thank you God....we did it". Yes sir Coach....you sure
did. Pulaski County will take a
week off this coming Friday, and then travel back to Roanoke to face the
William Fleming Colonels in what should be another tough game.
Things are not going to get any easier for the Cougars, but now there is a
glimmer of hope. We've seen a sign of what CAN be, and that can be a
good thing. To the Cougar players and coaches, thank you for yet
another great memory and another great moment. Now get out there and
start getting ready for that next game. Those other teams on our
schedule are watering at the mouths at the chance to beat Pulaski County,
and only you can stop them. We're behind you, and again we thank you
for all of that hard work so far this season. GO COUGARS!!!
Game
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