Pulaski County travels Friday to Princeton
Antonio Nottingham/The Patriot
Trevor Gallimore gains tough yardage last Friday against Lord Botetourt. He gained 135 yards on 32 carries.
By MIKE WILLIAMS
The Patriot
The 1-1 Pulaski County Cougars take to the road again this Friday – this time to West Virginia as they face the Princeton Senior High School Tigers.
The Cougars are coming off a 48-20 loss to Lord Botetourt.
Both the Cougars and Cavaliers chewed up yardage on the ground, with Pulaski County gaining 251 yards rushing, while Lord Botetourt piled up 314 yards.
Only six passes were thrown during the game – all by Pulaski County. Quarterback Chris Gallimore completed two of four passes for 33 yards. Bryant Nottingham went 0 for 2 with an interception.
After the Cavaliers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, the Cougars opened the second quarter with a 28-yard pass from Gallimore to senior Marcus Reed for their first score. The extra point was no good and the score stood at 6-6 with 10:18 to go in the first half.
About 2:30 later, Lord Botetourt scored what would be the first of three touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of 2, 10 and 1 yard to build a 28-6 halftime lead.
After the Cavaliers added another TD for a 35-6 advantage, Trevor Gallimore scored from three yards out to put Pulaski County back on the board. Bryant Nottingham added the PAT and the score was 35-13, LB.
The Cavaliers would score again as the horn blew to end the third quarter for a 41-13 lead.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Trevor Gallimore would run it in from 7 yards out. The Nottingham PAT made the score a more respectable 41-20.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, the Lord Botetourt return man took the kick back 97 yards to paydirt. The extra-point made it the final, 48-20.
Individually for Pulaski County, Trevor Gallimore rushed 32 times for 135 yards against Lord Botetourt. Chris Gallimore added 76 yards on 18 carries.
Chase Lawrence carried four times for 11 yards, Isaiah O’Dell added 3 yards on a single carry, and Nottingham had two carries for minus-6 yards.
Reed had one catch for 28 yards and Tyler Underwood had a catch for 5 yards.
Friday night in Princeton, the Cougars will face a Tiger team that has started its season at 3-0 – including a big win in week two against rival Bluefield, 27-6.
The Tigers to date have never defeated Pulaski County, with the Cougars winning the battle of the big cats all three times they’ve played. The Cougars have won 33-0, 26-10 and 41-7 in the final game between the two back in 1985.
However, this Princeton team appears to be far more formidable this time around.
First-year head coach Keith Taylor is no stranger to a lot of Cougar fans, as he is a former Cougar football assistant coach.
Under their former head coach, the Tigers last year made it to the West Virginia state playoffs, falling in the opening round.
A return trip to the playoffs is expected this season.
