Game
Article Coming into Friday
night’s game against the Christiansburg Blue Demons, there weren't many
fans who gave the Cougars much of a chance. Pulaski showed a solid
effort, however, and can hold their heads high after the 27-17 loss. There were a lot of things
that were very satisfying to see in Christiansburg Friday night.
The Blue Demons were coming into the contest undefeated, having taken down
Floyd County (40-12), Giles (35-0), Carroll County (40-0), Bassett (29-0),
and Patrick Henry (40-6). The Cougars were coming into the contest
2-3, and having no luck on the offensive side of the ball for the past
several games. Most "experts" picked the Blue Demons to
win the game, and to win it big. To be completely honest, before the
game started I simply hoped that we would be able to get out of the
contest without any injuries. Pulaski County showed up. This game had a
physical nature to it that seems to have been lacking so far this season.
The defense has played well at times, but there just wasn't a lot of hard
hitting going on. That started to change this week, and I'm hoping
to see it continue in that direction. For years the Cougars made
their living on being a tough and physical program that wasn’t afraid to
hit you, and would run the ball right at you. We may not have been
very successful running the ball at the Blue Demons, but they did find out
that the Cougars will still hit. By the end of the game, the Blue
Demon sidelines had begun to look like an emergency room with players on
the bench banged up, bloodied and bruised. There was, of course, a
questionable call in the game. Pulaski had the ball, the score was
tied at 14-14, and the Cougars were moving down the field.
Quarterback Chad Perry took the snap in the shotgun formation, dropped
back a step or two, and tossed the ball over the head and hands of a
Christiansburg defender. The ball fell to the ground incomplete, but
the whistle never blew. The Blue Demon closest to the ball picked it up
and ran downfield before finally being tackled by the Cougars. Head
Coach Todd Jones questioned the call, but was told the pass was a
backwards pass. Point one.....Chad Perry
was in the SHOTGUN. Point two....Pulaski County
currently does not have a play in its playbook that calls for the receiver
to run 6 yards backwards to catch a pass. Point three.....not only
was Perry in the shotgun, but he dropped back a step or two after
receiving the snap. Point four.....the
officials blew the call. Coach Jones handled the
situation better than most, and simply continued to get his team ready for
the next play. The play certainly stopped a Pulaski drive, giving
the Blue Demons the ball back in good field position. It also
managed to turn what was quickly becoming momentum in Pulaski's favor into
something else. Some have said that the play in question cost
Pulaski the game, but I'll disagree. It didn't help matters for
sure, as the turn ended up taking the Cougar from possibly going into
halftime up 21-14 or at least tied 14-14 to being behind 21-14.....all due
to a bad call. Bad calls happen though,
and after taking his team into the locker room for the halftime Coach
Jones and his Cougars came back out for round two. Pulaski County
stepped up defensively in the second half, holding the Blue Demons to one
fourth quarter touchdown on an 8 yard pass. The Cougars
blocked the PAT attempt, but without an effective running game to help
keep the passing game open Pulaski was unable to move the ball and score. The Cougars never gave up,
they never quit, and they fought tooth and nail for everything they could
get. They did this with an almost completely different offensive
line, a center that was three to four days into the job, and several key
players going both ways on the offensive and defensive fronts.
Pulaski County played hard, and we can be proud of our Cougars. Things won’t get any
easier next week though. Cave Spring exposed a bunch of weaknesses
in the Salem Spartans this week; taking them to the cleaners in a 34-6
Knights win at Salem. The banged up Blue Demons will face those same
Spartans next week, while the Cougars will host what appears to be a very
energized Cave Spring team. It will be nice to get back to the
friendly confines of Dobson Stadium after the long road trip.
Hopefully, Pulaski will find a way to do what those "experts"
are once again saying they can’t do. If anybody gets a chance
this week, be sure to say hey to Skipper Duke. Skipper has been the
Cougars flag man for a lot of years, and there just isn't a bigger fan of
Cougar football out there. In fact, I really feel like there needs
to be something done to let Skipper know just how much we love what he
does for our boys. I'm going to suggest two things.
First....call the school and let PCHS Principal Rodney Reedy know just how
much Skipper means to our kids and our program. Skipper is a part of
the tradition that makes Pulaski County such a special place, and we need
the folks in charge to know it. You can call the school at
(540)643-0747 and I'm sure Mr. Reedy would love to hear all the positive
feedback about Skipper that people will give. Hey, good news and
stuff is always good to hear. If somebody really wanted
to show Skipper how they feel, then how about getting out the face paint.
I'm sure nothing would show Skipper how much we appreciate him like
showing him a sea of cardinal and gold faces in the student section this
coming Friday night. Maybe we can even have a "Skipper Duke
Look Alike" contest? Let's put it this way, I'll be making sure
I get pictures of the painted faces, but whoever can come out looking the
most like Skipper will get something better. I'll take a picture of
you with Skipper at some point and post it. Let's get out and show the
visiting Cave Spring Knights that we stand behind our team, and let's pack
those stands and make some noise for THE PRIDE OF PULASKI COUNTY this
Friday night!! It's time for cowbells and train horns on
Slaughterhouse Road!!! GO COUGARS!! BEAT THE KNIGHTS!!
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