Spartans Win Round One The
Salem Spartans defeated the Pulaski County Cougars Friday night by a final
score of 35-20 to end the regular season for both teams, but the matchup
will be revisited next week when the Cougars travel back to Salem Stadium
for the first round of the playoffs. "We
did some things that hurt ourselves, and we missed some opportunities, but
we also found some things that worked that we're going to try to take
advantage of next week" said Cougar Head Coach Todd Jones.
"Salem is a good team, and you can't get behind to a good team like
that and expect good things. We're going to have to cut out the mental
mistakes and play smart football." Salem
started off hot, taking the opening kickoff and going 66 yards on four
plays, with the scoring play coming on a 36 yard pass from quarterback
Matt Hill to K.J. Helm. Kyle King added the extra point to give Salem the
7-0 lead. Tyler Ervine took the kickoff out to the 31 yard line for the
Cougars, but a third down pass to Marcus McClanahan was incomplete and
Pulaski was forced to punt. The Spartans got the ball at their own 36 yard
line, and in what looked like a carbon copy of their first drive went 64
yards in six plays, with the scoring coming in a 30 yard pass from Hill to
running back Marty Bishop. Kings PAT gave Salem a 14-0 advantage. Malik
Eaves returned the kickoff out to the Cougar 30 yard line, and the Cougars
began to mount an offense. Runs by McClanahan and Peirce Rigney were
followed by a pass from Marcus Johnston to Rick Cobbs to move the chains.
The passing attack seemed to open up the Spartan defense as the Cougars
earned two first downs on the ground. On second and nine, Johnston sent a
pass deep to Zack Akers, but the ball bounced off his fingertips in the
endzone. Cobbs moved the chains again on a strong run, and after two runs
by Rigney, Johnston kept the ball himself and moved ahead for the first
down. The second quarter began, and with 10:58 left in the half McClanahan
went five yards to cross the goal line and give the Cougars their first
score. The Akers point after was good, putting the score at 14-7 in favor
of the Spartans. The
Spartans moved the ball 80 yards on eleven plays and a personal foul
penalty against the Cougars, scoring again with 5:35 left in the half on a
two yard run by Bishop. The King PAT moved the score to 21-7. The Cougars
tried to catch the Spartans sleeping on their next drive, and on third and
long Cobbs took the handoff, ran to his right, then pulled up to pass. The
pass was intercepted by Salem’s Chad Fisher, and a 50 yard pass from
Hill to Mic Edwards put the Spartans in striking distance again. A six
yard pass from Hill to Edwards was good for the fourth Salem score of the
half with 2:40 remaining, and King's PAT moved the score to 28-7. Pulaski
was able to move the ball, earning three first downs, before being forced
to punt. Salem took a knee to end the half. The
Spartans scored again early in the third quarter on an 18 yard pass from
Hill to Helm. King's point after moved the score to 35-7, but Pulaski kept
up the fight. After Ervine returned the kickoff, a Salem late hit added
yardage and set the Cougars up at their own 44 yard line. Runs by Rigney,
McClanahan, and Cobbs moved the ball deep, and with 5:00 showing on the
clock Rigney took the ball across the goal line from 2 yards out. Akers
point after moved the score to 35-14. The
final score of the contest came with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter. The
Spartans punted the ball, and Ervine returned it to the Cougar 34 yard
line. Johnston hit Akers on a 60 yard pass down the visitor’s side of
the field, putting the Cougars at the four yard line. Three running plays
got the Cougars one yard closer, and then on fourth and goal Johnston hit
Akers again on the three yard pass for the score. The point after was
ruled no good, putting the final score at 35-20 in favor of the Spartans. "We
gave up the big play early, then we jumped offsides a few times when it
looked like we were going to hold them defensively" said Coach Jones.
"We lost coverage a couple of times, and we just got too far behind
to catch up. On a good note, I thought Marcus (Johnston) had a great game
and came into his own tonight. Corey Hale came in on a last moments notice
and played on the line for us tonight, and we thought he did a solid job
for us. We had some other kids playing in new positions on the offensive
line tonight, and they handled it well. As much as we would have liked to
win tonight, we didn't. Now we'll get ready for next week. Everything is
wiped clean now, and it's a new season. If you win, you keep playing. If
you don't, you're done. We're going to put a plan together, come out and
work hard this week, and Friday night we'll go back to Salem and give it
our best shot. I'm excited, and so are the kids." The Cougars finished the game with 35 rushing attempts for 134 yards, while Salem had 44 attempts for 181 yards. That rushing attack for Pulaski was led by Peirce Rigney with 18 attempts for 62 yards. Cobbs had 8 rushes for 45 yards, McClanahan had 7 rushes for 21 yards, and Johnston had 2 rushes for 6 yards. The Spartans were led by Bishop with 16 rushes for 92 yards. Johnston had a solid night passing, completing 3 of 5 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Hill led the Spartans, going 10 of 14 for 171 yards. The Cougars had 219 total yards and 10 first downs, while the Spartans had 352 total yards and 20 first downs. The Spartans recovered one Cougar fumble on a muffed punt early in the third quarter, and intercepted one pass attempt from Cobbs. Akers had two receptions for Pulaski for 63 yards and a score, with Cobbs also catching a 22 yard pass. Edwards led the Spartans in receiving, catching 6 passes for 88 yards. Helm had 3 catches for 57 yards, and Bishop added one catch for 26 yards.
Game Pictures
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