JV Cougars Pound Bruins

JV Cougars Pound Blacksburg
By David Gravely

It started with the first offensive play for Pulaski County's junior varsity football team on Thursday night at Bill Brown Stadium, and it didn't let up until the final snap as the younger Cougars defeated the Bruins 40-9.

After the Bruins kicked off to Pulaski to start the game, running back Brandon Jones took the hand-off from quarterback Jesse Draper and cut left.  He avoided two tackles, and then rambled 62 yards for the touchdown.  The Shane Chrisley PAT was no good, leaving the score at 6-0 in favor of the Cougars.  Blacksburg took the kickoff out to their 28 yard line, but were forced to punt.  Pulaski went to their air attack next, with Draper completing a 33 yard pass to Jake Tabor first, and then a 43 yard pass to reciever Lonnie Mattox for the score with 5:42 remaining in the first quarter.  The Chrisley PAT was good, and after another Cougar kickoff and another Blacksburg punt, Pulaski went back to work on offense with a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The second quarter started off with the Cougars on the attack again, with Draper hitting a 45 yard pass to Mattox to put the Cougars in the red zone.  Despite a stiffening Bruins defense, Pulaski drove towards the goal line with Draper taking the ball in from one yard out with 8:31 remaining in the half.   Chrisley's PAT put the score at 20-0.  Coach Richard Lewis continued to press the issue, and on the next Cougar possession Draper went back to the air with a 63 yard pass to Tabor that would have been longer and six more points, but a Cougar blocker's feet became entangled with a Bruin defender during the race to the goal line and Pulaski was flagged for a block in the back.  Pulaski lost it's momentum and turned the ball over on downs deep in Blacksburg territory.   Blacksburg came out and pressed the issue, hoping to put some points on the board before halftime, but a Bruins pass was intercepted by defensive back Austin Harless.  With time slipping fast off the clock, Draper hit Tabor on a 22 yard pass to move the Cougars close, and then Mattox made a leaping catch above the Blacksburg defender for a 12 yard touchdown catch with just 42 seconds left in the half.  The Chrisley PAT sent the Cougars into halftime with a 27-0 lead.

The Bruins started the second half off with the ball, but after moving a short distance Cougar linebacker J.D. Sutphin stepped in front of a Bruins pass for the interception, but after returning it a short distance the ball was knocked loose and the Bruins recovered again.   Blacksburg finally got on the board shortly after that, when the Cougar defensive back lost his footing and the Bruins were able to connect on a 24 yard touchdown pass.  The Bruins were hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the score, but the PAT was still good, leaving the score 27-7.  Pulaski took the kickoff and went back on offense.  On fourth down and nine Draper dropped back to pass but missed his reciever, but a late hit on the quarterback moved the chains for the Cougars.  With 5:24 remaining in the third quarter, Draper called his own number for the second time and ran the ball to the left side of the line, crossing the goal line from six yards out.  The Chrisley PAT moved the score to 34-7.

The scoring slowed down throughout the fourth quarter, as the Cougars tried to get as many players into the game as possible.   With Pulaski pushed back deep into their own territory, quarterback Brandon Walters was tackled in the Cougar endzone for a Bruins safety.  The Bruins tried to attach the Cougar secondary again, but Austin Harless was the man on the spot again, as he got his second interception of the game.  The Cougars couldn't get a first down, so after a punt the Bruins went back to work again.  Blacksburg sent the ball deep, but this time it was intercepted by Lonnie Mattox.  After getting past the Bruins recievers, Mattox weaved his way for a few yards picking up blocks, and then picked up the pace as he went 93 yards for the pick-six.  The PAT was no good, giving the Cougars the final score of 40-9.

Draper finished the game with over 270 yards passing, throwing two touchdown passes and running for two more scores.  The win moves the junior varsity team to 4-5 on the season, with one game remaining next week as they host the Salem Spartans at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 6 pm.

JV Cougars Blast Titans

JV Cougars Blast Titans
By David Gravely

The Pulaski County junior varsity Cougar football team is quietly making big strides this season, and Thursday they earned their third win of the season in a 39-7 blowout win over the visiting Hidden Valley Titans at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.

The lone Hidden Valley score of the game came after a Cougar fumble on the opening kickoff gave the Titans the ball deep in Pulaski territory. With 8:50 showing on the clock, the Titans took the ball into the endzone on a nine yard run. The point after kick gave the Titans a 7-0 lead, which they held through the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter found the Cougars moving the ball, and with 9:41 left in the half Jake Tabor took the ball across the goal line on a four yard run. Shane Chrisley added the point after to tie the score, but the Cougars weren't finished. After an interception by Cougar Brandon Jones, Pulaski took over and started to drive the ball again. With 4:19 left in the half, quarterback Jesse Draper dropped back and sent the ball to a leaping Jason Ball. Ball made the catch, forced a Titan defender to miss, and went 39 yards for the score. The PAT was no good, giving the Cougars their first lead of the game 13-6. Pulaski had another shot to score before the end of the first half, but time ran out before they could take advantage.

Hidden Valley received the kickoff to start the second half, but the junior varsity Cougars defense continued to dominate and hold the Titans in check. The Titans were forced to punt, but the ball was bobbled by the Hidden Valley punter and the Cougars defenders rushed to attack, giving Pulaski the ball deep inside Titan territory. A few short plays later, Draper took the ball around the corner of the Hidden Valley defense and crossed the goal line at the corner of the endzone on a four yard run. The Chrisley point after gave the Cougars a 20-7 advantage with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The Titans came back out on offense, but a hard Cougar hit forced a fumble which was recovered by Daniel Puckett for the Cougars at the Titan 26 yard line. On the next play, Draper lobbed the ball up towards a streaking Jason Ball, who rambled into the endzone after the catch. The failed PAT left the Cougars ahead 26-7.

The fourth quarter found the Cougars clearing the bench, but the younger players were in no mood to simply run out the clock. After a run dominated drive by the Cougars, Damon Akers took the ball into the endzone from one yard out for his first score of the season with 5:59 remaining. The failed PAT left the Cougars ahead 32-7. With the Cougars throwing more and more backups into the mix, the Titans attempted to move the ball through the air, but they failed to notice the secondary was still strong. With 4:34 remaining, Ball intercepted a Hidden Valley pass and went 46 yards for the final score of the game. Chrisley's PAT put the score at 39-7 in favor of the Cougars.

Hidden Valley had one final chance to operate their offense, but another hard hit by a Cougar defender sent the ball rolling on the ground where it was recovered by Jack Ratcliff. In the final seconds of the game Pulaski took a knee to allow the clock to expire, giving the JV Cougars their third win of the season, moving them to 3-4 overall with games remaining on the road next week against Blacksburg and then back at home for their final game against the Salem Spartans.

It should be mentioned that several key junior varsity players have been moved up to the varsity team over the past two weeks, but even without those players the Cougars have continued to show improvement as the younger players have stepped in and taken those spots.

Dukes Win In Giles
By David Gravely

Dublin Middle School put on their own version of Monday Night Football this week, and despite the cold and windy conditions the Dukes won a tightly contested game over the Giles Spartans by a final score of 28-22.

Giles used their single wing attack to eat up most of the first quarter on their opening drive, before finally taking the ball into the endzone on a two yard run with 2:37 remaining. The two point conversion run put the Spartans up 8-0. After receiving the kickoff Dublin Middle began a drive of their own, using their speed on the ends to eat up yardage. With 5:51 left in the first half, quarterback Isaac Poe dropped back into the pocket and sent the ball to Alex Ramsey for a 25 yard touchdown pass. Jake Clary took the ball into the middle of the Giles offense for the two point conversion, putting the game at a 8-8 tie.

With Giles back on offense, the Dukes defense made adjustments to try to stop the running game. After driving deep into Dukes territory, Dublin finally made the defensive stop and took over after a strong play on fourth and short. With time running out in the half, the Dukes moved the ball with two solid runs before Dukes Head Coach Ward Angle called his final time out of the half. With seconds left on the clock, Poe dropped back and sent the ball to Hunter Thomas on a 65 yard touchdown pass to put the Dukes in the lead. A penalty after the score moved the extra point attempt back, and the Dukes were unable to convert and the half ended with Dublin ahead 14-8.

Dublin took a page out of the Spartans playbook to start the second half, and used a running attack to eat up most of the third quarter. Thomas made good on the drive at the 1:34 mark of the third quarter when he cut back across the defense and went 22 yards for the score. The two point conversion was no good, leaving the score at 20-8 Dublin.

The fourth quarter saw a shift in momentum, and Giles began to crawl their way back into the game. With 6:35 left, the Spartans went into the endzone on a six yard run, but the two point conversion was stopped. After a short Dukes punt, Giles went back on the attack, and at the 2:33 mark were able to score again on a 5 yard run. The two point conversion gave Giles their first lead since the first quarter, 22-20.

Dublin received the kickoff and were tackled deep in their own territory. Runs by the Dukes were able to gain yards, but a big play was needed as time was quickly slipping off the clock. With only 50 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Poe turned to hand the ball off only to realize no one was there. He quickly tucked the ball and ran to the right side of the line, where he broke two tackles and broke free down the Giles sideline. Poe covered 69 yards before finally crossing the goal line to give Dublin the lead back. Thomas scored the two point conversion to give the Dukes a 28-22 lead.

With one final chance to steal the game, the Giles quarterback dropped back to pass. Under heavy pressure from the defensive front, he sent the ball to an open Spartan receiver. At the last second, Kevin Smith broke on the ball and intercepted the pass to end the comeback effort. The Dukes took a knee on the final two plays to secure the win, 28-22.

"This was a great game for our kids, and they showed a ton of heart out there" said Head Coach Ward Angle. "When you go down late like that, it's easy to just give up, but our kids kept fighting. The long run for the final score, the interception......those were all huge. We're really proud of our guys. We've told them all week that our focus was to finish, and that's what they did."

The Dukes will now finish up their season in grand style, as they face the Pulaski Middle School Orioles in the final game for both teams. "I think everybody is really excited" said Angle. "We're going to play this game at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium. This is where both teams will eventually become teammates, so I think it's great that they get to play their final middle school game on Joel Hicks Field. These kids are all going to be Cougars next year, so we're hoping for a great game. We want everyone to come out and support these young men as they finish out their middle school football seasons."

The PMS vs DMS game is currently set for 5 pm at Pulaski County High School, with the Cougar junior varsity game to take place immediately afterwards.