The Cougar football team came out hot, taking a quick 21-0 lead, but the Northside Vikings answered with just enough to deny Pulaski County a win in their home opener.
The Cougars put together an impressive first drive that ended with senior Trevor Gallimore crossing the goal line from two yards out with 6:11 remaining in the first. Junior Bryant Nottingham tacked on the extra point to put Pulaski County up 7-0.
The Cougar defense held strong, forcing a Viking punt. Once again, the Cougars drove the ball down the field and scored. This time Gallimore ran it in from three yards out with 1:35 remaining in the opening quarter. The PAT by Nottingham made it 14-0.
Yet another strong Cougar defensive showing forced the Vikings to punt again. The ball was snapped poorly, going over the punters head and into the endzone. Junior Chase King pounced on the ball for the Cougar score with 1:29 remaining in the first. With the Nottingham PAT, Pulaski County was up 21-0 and things were looking good.
Then things started going wrong. The Cougars started putting the ball on the ground. Northside recovered three of six Pulaski County fumbles throughout the remainder of the game. Penalties started adding up.
Then Northside completed a pass. What should have been a short gain turned into a 40-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made the score 21-7 with 8:58 left in the second quarter.
Neither team seemed to be able to do much the remainder of the first half, but the Vikings took advantage of the second half kickoff. Another pass, this time a screen play, turned into a 72-yard score with 11:03 remaining in the third. The PAT brought the Vikings closer, 21-14, but the Cougars turned the ball back over to Northside immediately.
It took less than a minute for the Vikings to cover the short distance, scoring from eight yards out with 10:15 left in the third.
With the score now tied at 21-21, the Cougars began to feel the pressure. The next few drives were cut short, but the Vikings couldn’t move the ball either.
The Cougars fielded a Viking punt and started to drive the ball, but another Pulaski County fumble proved costly. This time, the Viking defender picked up the fumble and raced 30 yards for the go-ahead score. The PAT put Northside up 28-21 with 6:49 remaining in the game.
Pulaski County tried to drive, but penalties continued to hamper their efforts. A long fourth-down pass attempt into the endzone was intercepted, which was as good as a punt, but Northside took over again.
Pulaski County recovered a Northside fumble with time dwindling down, giving the Cougars a chance. Pulaski County drove near the goal line with time running out, but in the end were unable to get the score and fell 21-28.
“We’re just not good enough as a program right now to make the kind of mistakes we made and win,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “We can’t afford fumbles. We can’t afford penalties. We can’t make the mental errors. We simply didn’t play well enough to win. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Pulaski County didn’t look bad on the stat sheet. The Cougars outgained Northside in first downs, rushing yards, and total yards. Despite having more penalties than any of the coaching staff wanted, the Cougars didn’t have as many total or as many penalties yards as the Vikings.
The passing game hurt Pulaski County. The Cougars were 0-for-5 passing with an interception. Northside was 5-of-12 with an interception for 120 yards. The Cougars had six fumbles and lost three. The Vikings had two fumbles and lost both.
The Cougars will enjoy an off week next week. The following week they will host Lord Botetourt on Friday, September 13.
STATS
Team Stats
1st Downs
PC: 20
NS: 7
Rushing
PC: 68/205 yards
NS: 23/41 yards
Passing
PC: 0-5-1, 0 yards
NS: 5-12-1, 120 yards
Total Yards
PC: 205
NS: 161
Fumbles/Lost
PC: 6/3
NS: 2/2
Penalties
PC: 7/55 yards
NS: 11/86 yards
Punting
PC: 3/46.67 avg
NS: 5/38 avg
Return Yards
PC: 120
NS: 75
Individual Stats
Rushing
PC: Gallimore 37 att/116 yards, Carrasco 15/54, Wilson 8/24, Nottingham 8/21
NS: #2 11/25, #14 4/-4, #6 6/21, #5 2/4, #3 1/3
Passing
PC: Nottingham 0-5-1, 0 yards
NS: #14 5-12-1, 120 yards