Cougar football stats at the break show dominance so far

In the Cougars’ first four games this season they have dominated on the scoreboard – winning their games by margins of 42, 41, 21 and 56 points. And as one would expect that domination carries over to the season statistics.

With Pulaski County enjoying a bye this week, it seemed like a good time to check the team and individual stats so far this season, and prior to the Cougars’ real tests against Patrick Henry and Salem.

Nowhere does the Cougars’ domination show up more than in total offense numbers. Through four games, Pulaski County has gained 1,402 total yards – almost a thousand more than their four opponents’ 413. That’s the equivalent of 10 football fields more!

Then there’s the scoring. Pulaski County so far has outscored its opponents by a 174-14 margin.

The Cougars have recorded 79 first downs to their opponents’ 31.

And Pulaski County has had 27 big plays of over 20 yards so far this season compared to only 8 for the opposition.

Obviously, when play is as lopsided as it has been so far in favor of the Cougars, you can expect the individual stats to be just as impressive.

And they are.

Let’s break it down by category.

Rushing

Ethan Gallimore and Keyonte Kennedy are leading the way for the Cougars so far. Gallimore has 283 yards on 29 carries – all gained during the past two games – for a 9.8 yards per carry average, while Kennedy has 281 on 58 carries (4.8).

Kennedy’s best game came last week, rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries while lugging around a big cast on his broken right hand.

Quemaar Porter has added 144 yards on 24 carries, while senior QB Drew Dalton has gained 47 yards on 27 carries – most coming up the middle on sneaks for short yardage. Five of those QB sneaks yielded five touchdowns.

Scoring

Speaking of touchdowns, Dalton is second on the team so far in scoring with 30 points – just behind Kennedy and his 36 points (6 TDs). Kicker Broc Simpson is next with 24. Receiver Chase Dotson and Gallimore each have 18 points. Porter and Layne Suthers have 12 points and Will Bishop, Trevor Burton, Clay Phillips and Jacob Johnson each have 6. Phillips’ score coming after he blocked a kick, recovered the loose ball and took it in for the score from 14 yards out. A defensive lineman’s dream play.

Kicking

Simpson has connected on 24 of 25 extra point tries and is 0 for 1 in field goals. The senior kicker has kicked off 29 times with 15 touchbacks. He’s punted only 6 times for a 34.3 yard per kick average per kick. The Cougars weren’t forced to punt at all in their two most recent contests.

Passing

Dalton has completed 59 percent of his pass attempts (29 of 49) with 6 TDs and only 1 interception.

Receiving

Johnson has hauled in a team-high 11 receptions for 175 yards, with Dotson adding 7 catches for 184 yards, and Gallimore has 5 catches for 79 yards.

Layne Suthers stands out on the stat sheet with one catch, but it was a big one – a 77-yard TD reception. Dotson added 3 TD receptions, Johnson and Bishop added 1 each.

All Purpose Yards

Gallimore is tops at 362 yards, Kennedy has 281, Porter has 244 with 67 coming on an interception return, and John Lyman has added 241 – 90 coming on kickoff returns and another 125 on punt returns.

While it’s easy to focus on offensive stats, the Cougars have some impressive numbers on the defensive side of the ball as well.

The Cougar “D” has 6 sacks on the season, seven interceptions (including two Pick-Sixes), 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and five total recoveries.

Individually, Diego Turner leads the way with 1.5 sacks. Trevor Burton, Dotson, Phillips and Chayton Rollins each have 1. Zeke Surber has a half.

Gallimore leads the way with 5 tackles for loss followed by Bishop at 4.5, Surber with 4, Turner added 3, and Dotson and Rollins each had 2.5. Burton and Cooper Dunnigan added 2. Corvin Carter, Lyman, Suthers and Phillips have 1.5. Tyler Underwood, James Horton and Noah Long added 1 each and Caleb Yelton added a half.

Porter and Suthers lead the team with 2 interceptions each followed with 1 each by Dotson, Carter and Gallimore.

Thanks to Wendy Dixon, a math teacher at Pulaski County High School and the wife of head coach Mark Dixon for the season stats.  And to Tim Hurst who provides stats to the media almost immediately after each game for us to use in writing our articles.

By MIKE WILLIAMS, The Patriot