cougardave

It looks like instead of a Foundation game next year held at Pulaski County High School vs Richlands, both Pulaski and Richlands will be taking part in the Jamboree at Mitchell Stadium with Bluefield and Graham, as well as possibly two other teams. Ya'll better be cookin' on the grill like you did last time~!!!

I think I prefer "Richlands was obviously more prepared and more practiced Friday night than the Cougars were, but then thats to be expected since this was there second scrimmage and Pulaski's first." As for when the first team or second team came out, I wouldnt stress that too much. You guys seemed to have pretty good talent all the way through your lineup, but for either team to keep their starters in for much more than they did would have been somewhat pointless. At this point making them run four quarters worth of plays is crazy, because they are still learning. Wearing them out wont teach them much, and I wouldnt think getting a starter hurt would help much either. What did your running back (#7 I believe) do last year? Is he a senior or what? Seemed like he had some pretty good wheels on him.

I didnt realize they had dropped to D3. I couldnt help but giggle though when I read the story on the main page about the game. "Richlands Blue Tornado took everything Pulaski County could dish out Friday night"????? PC didnt play any of its first string kids after the first series of the second half. When talking about Crouse, they wrote " Crouse carried the ball 18 times for 97 yards in the first half. He carried once for two yards after halftime." Not too bad a first half if you ask me. He actually ended up with 107 yards for the night. Like I said before, thats mostly how Crouse gets his yardage....bang, bang, bang, bang, and all of a sudden POW.....he breaks one for 60 yards. Backs who are built like that and can dish out some punishment are fun to watch. The back Richlands used was alot like that too. i think this would be a great series to keep going though. Two tough teams who play hard like that can only help each other get better.

Most of Crouses yards usually come after he has pounded and pounded the ball for a while. He is a short guy, but if you ask any of the folks who hit him tonight they will tell you he's solid. Usually after a while, he just starts popping through some of those holes and once he's past you he's gone. Tonight he was pulled, as he should have been, after they got him some reps on both sides of the ball. The Richlands defense held him to less yards than I expected him to get though. They have some pretty good size players on that line.

Just thought I'd put this up for you guys since I put it up over on VaPreps too. I didnt have a list of names for Richlands, but I got numbers as much as I could when someone scored. First the facts of who scored and how: JV action: -PC had 5 touchdowns and a safety, Richlands had no scores. -PC moved the ball well, both grinding it out with 3-5 yard plays and a few long ones that they broke loose. -At first it looked like Richlands would be able to pass at will, but that was quickly stopped. I couldnt tell if they changed quarterbacks or if the PC defense brought about the change, but it ended. -Richlands wasnt able to get across the mid-field point. -both teams had some good looking kids, should have some good talent over the next few years. Varsity: -Richlands scored first, on a long run (around 70 yards) by #7. made xp -PC scored after driving down the field, Crouse rushing, missed xp -Richlands scored again, #7 rushing, missed xp -PC was driving down the field and fumbled with 1:58 left in half -Either near end of 1st half or at start of second half, PC snaps ball over punters head on punt attempt. Punter (#15) chases ball, see's defender, kicks the ball out of the endzone. 2 points for Richlands. -PC first team unsuccessful moving ball, 2nd team comes in after 1st series of second half. -PC second team running back (#6) scores TD on 45 yard run against Richlands 1st team defense. missed xp -Richlands scores TD when #24 blocks punt near goal line and falls on it in the end zone. missed xp -Richlands scores TD on long run in final moments of game. I didnt get this runners number. Overall impressions: Richlands was OBVIOUSLY a week and a scrimmage ahead of Pulaski County tonight. Pulaski made those first scrimmage mistakes that any team is going to make, most likely the same ones that Richlands made last week when they scrimmaged Christiansburg. Richlands was able to open up the Pulaski run defense with a very good quarterback who was able to scramble and throw the ball on the run when he needed too. The Richlands recievers made several nice catches, and the running backs showed good speed and ability to cut through traffic. Richlands had pretty good size across both fronts. The only negatives I saw for Richlands was that they looked a little more winded than i expected at the end of the first half. PC was beginning to move the ball on them, and were it not for one of those first scrimmage mistakes (qb fumbled the ball on the snap, Richlands recovered) then the score at the half would have been in PC's favor. Pulaski showed about what you would expect of a team in its first scrimmage. The first team played the first half and the first series of the second half. After that they were on the bench. Crouse was able to move the ball, but not for as many yards as expected. PC did see a good performance from #6 (I gave my list of names to Cougarfan to update the site, sorry) from the tailback spot when lined up as a tailback. Both quarterbacks did well, but sophomore #10 with the second team completed a couple of passes, nothing long or anything, just 2 or 3 short passes. Twine's first pass would have went for a nice long gain, but Turpin couldnt get his hands all the way on it. He did have about two steps on his man though. I think Pulaski still obviously has some work to do, but in all they dont have anything to hold their heads down about. In another post, someone ask if this was PC's first week of practice. The answer is no, but it is their first scrimmage of the season. I would look for them to improve alot of the next two weeks before they get into their first regular season game against Patrick Henry. I think both teams got a good night of work out of it though, might be a good one to keep going...... Good luck to you guys this season, unless of course we were to meet again.....

Absolutely brilliant.

The Pulaski player who was injured in the Bluefield scrimmage, #9 Austin Twine, is fine. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution since it was one of those neck/back injury worries, but he was back in practice on Monday and ready to go. Thanks to all those who ask.

Your misunderstanding me about the Bluefield being over rated comment. What I mean is this: i expected to come out and see the Beavers pretty well dominate the Cougars in this thing. You guys have alot of returning talent (according to what "they" say), are coming off of back to back trips to the state title game, and have been proclaimed by most to be on the road back to it again. PC was a week behind you in practice, this was their first live action, and lost alot of starters last year to graduation. That should have added up to a pretty one sided contest. The fact that it wasnt makes me wonder if Bluefield is being talked up too much, or if Pulaski may be better off than I was thinking they would be. You gotta admit, there are alot of expectations for the Beavers this year if you listen to "them". Also agree that neither team used much of its arsenal, just keeping it pretty basic and working out the kinks in the basic plays. I guess we'll see next week if Bluefield is for real when you guys take on the G-men. Good luck to both teams, somebody take some pictures.

One of the reasons I used to love (and now truly miss) playing against Annacostia, DC and Eastern High School from the DC area was because they passed the ball almost every play. We used to play them right at the beginning of the season for a few years there. They may have run the ball 3-4 times per game. That made for a great work out for your secondary, and really got them ready. Our pass defense is going to have to step it up, otherwise people will get wise pretty quick and eat us alive. I'd love to be able to make the game, but I'll be working the chains part of the time at the Touchdown Classic and taking pictures or eating the rest of the time that night, so I'll have to take a rain check.

Just a few things. First, an extra week of practice is a HUGE difference at the high school level. and yes PC should have had its coaches on the field "teaching", since this was the first time our kids had lined up all season. This is a very young team, and a team without alot of players who have had much playing time. It was meant to be a controlled scrimmage, and you do that to teach, not win. As for the Beavers scoring on PC, you have to admit that the only TD they really had to work for was that great drive in the third period. The gift they got in the form of the snap over the punters head giving BF the ball inside the 10 yard line, and the fumble they recovered, again near the 10 or so yard line, should have been 14 for you guys. Instead it was 7. If PC continues to make mistakes like that it will be a long hard season. As for the manhandling, yes, the Cougars did manhandle the Beavers. The Cougars problem didnt seem to be in the offensive or defensive line, which I thought would be the big problem. The problems came when you guys started passing effectively against a team that doesnt see it alot. I think if your qb had gotten into a groove earlier, it could have been a different story, but the PC line kept pressure on him most of the night. Hopefully next week the defensive backfield looks at the tapes, make the proper adjustments, and remember how it felt seeing the ball go over their heads. I know why Coach Simmons took the field too, and in this situation I think it was the right move on his part. His team wasnt performing to his expectations, so he let them know about it and corrected it.

I really dont think the score is that big of a deal anyway, but I will say this for both teams: good night of work, learned a few things, both can and should continue getting better. I miss the PC/Bluefield series. Being on the sidelines last night at Mitchell Stadium brought back some fond memories. Hoefully one day it can all get started up again.

How can you say Bluefield won? They were physically manhandled by a team with a weeks less practice and this was the first time they had lined up 11 on 11 this year? I expected to see the Beavers blow PC off the ball and control the tempo of the game, only to see the Cougars sack the qb, force fumbles, intercept passes, and block punts. You had two first downs in the first two quarters. How is that winning? I dont know if that means the Beavers were more hype than substance or if Pulaski is just better than we have expected them to be, but I do know this: If Bluefield plays Graham like they played PC last night, the Beavers will be in for a long night. As for our line size, white jerzies make you look bigger, we dont have that big of a line this year. They are strong and fast, something I think may be much better for them. Still havent heard anything about Twine, the PC player who twisted/tweaked his neck on the fence defending a pass. If I hear anything I'll post it. Good luck to the Beavers this season, may it be succesful and as injury free as possible. varsity scoring BF TD 7-0 PC TD 7-7 PC FG 7-10 BF TD 14-10 PC FG 14-13 PC FG 14-16