Cougars down to one last chance for victory
By TROY SARVER
Patriot Publishing
ROANOKE – Pulaski County is down to its final chance to avoid a winless season in 2026.
Patrick Henry broke away with 28 unanswered points in the second quarter while holding an injury-plagued Cougars’ offense to just one first down in the first half as the Patriots took a 49-6 victory over Pulaski County on Friday night at Gainer Field.
With the loss Pulaski County drops to 0-9 on the season as they go into their regular season finale next week at Hidden Valley who comes into the contest winless as well.
Things actually started off positively for Pulaski County (0-9, 0-5) as they forced a Patrick Henry fumble on the Patriots’ first offensive possession of the game at the Pulaski County 1 yard line. From there, however, it was all downhill for the Cougars’ defense as PH scored touchdowns on their next four drives.
On the night the Patriots amassed 514 yards of total offense which included 356 through the air on 15 pass completions.
Patrick Henry (8-1, 5-0) also got on the scoreboard through their defense in the second quarter when defensive back Dez Reynolds intercepted a Pulaski County pass and returned it 30 yards for a score to make it 28-0 at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter.
The Cougar offense came into the game without starting quarterback Dorrian Long who was out with a concussion. Then in the first possession of the game, Pulaski County lost both their starting running backs Jackson Squires and Jayden Aviles to injuries. Aviles did not return while Squires came back for one run in the second quarter before calling it a night.
Despite the injuries, Pulaski head coach Cam Akers credited the PH defense for the Cougars’ tough night.
“We had a lot of JV players on the field, but I thought they (PH) played a great game. I don’t think it would have mattered what package we had in,” Akers said.
With a running clock and playing against backups, the Cougars finally got on the scoreboard with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter when Illjah Salaam scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 42-6.
The Patriots had a chance to run out the clock from there, but up by 36 points PH decided to continue passing the ball and scored on a 95-yard TD pass in the game’s final minute to make the score 49-6.
On Friday Pulaski County takes on a Hidden Valley squad that lost to Salem 84-0 on Friday night to move their record to 0-9. The Cougars’ last win came against the Titans in last year’s regular season finale where Pulaski County won 68-6 at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium to finish the season 3-7.
“We have to come in on Monday and have a great week of practices to give us an opportunity to get a win,” Akers said.
Game time on Friday at Bogle Field will be 7p.m.
Pulaski County 0 0 0 6 6
Patrick Henry 7 28 7 7 49
PH – Arrington 10 run (Williams kick)
PH – Painter 11 run (Williams kick)
PH – Painter 6 run (Williams kick)
PH – Reynolds 23 interception return (Williams kick)
PH – Arrington 65 run (Williams kick)
PH – Barham 67 pass from Painter (Williams kick)
PC – Salaam 3 run (kick blocked)
PH – Hardy 95 pass from Gusler (Williams kick)
Pulaski County Patrick Henry
First Downs 7 12
Yards Rushing 80 158
Passes C-A-I 4-12-1 15-26-1
Yards Passing 57 356
Penalties – Yards 5-36 14-103
Fumbles – lost 1-1 2-1
Punts – average 5-39.6 0-0
RUSHING – Pulaski County, Aviles 3-10, Salaam 17-54, Squires 2-16, Akers 1-2, Dearaujo 6-5, Miller 6-(-7), Jones 1-0, Marshall 1-0, Patrick Henry, Arrington 9-116, Painter 4-42, Tartt 1-7, Gusler 1-(-10), Joseph 2-3
PASSING – Pulaski County, Marshall 4-12-1-57, Patrick Henry, Painter 13-22-0-258, Gusler 2-4-1-98
RECEIVING – Pulaski County, Salaam 2-21, Akers 1-12, Burton 1-24, Patrick Henry, Barham 3-116, Alexander 3-26, Eddy 4-61, Taylor 4-58, Hardy 1-95