Cougars crush Hidden Valley, 51-7
By TROY SARVER
Patriot Publishing
DUBLIN – Even though they may not be having the season that they hoped for, the Pulaski County seniors had a night they will never forget on Friday.
The Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball opening up a 51-0 halftime lead as they cruised to a 51-7 victory over Hidden Valley on Senior Night at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.
The win was a nice birthday present for Pulaski County head coach Cam Akers, but he was more interested in celebrating his team’s senior class after the victory.
“They are a class of fighters and what I mean by that is they came in every day even after some tough losses and worked to put things back together and just kept playing,” Akers said. “Tonight was a good effort and good senior leadership.”
Pulaski County wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as the Cougar’s scored on the game’s third play when senior running back Trevor Gallimore ran it into the end zone from 12 yards out to make it 7-0.
After a Pulaski Co. stop on defense, the Cougars doubled their lead when Gallimore capped off a 4-play, 59-yard drive with a 7-yard TD run to make it 14-0 with 9:04 left in the first quarter.
The Cougars’ defense got into the scoring on Hidden Valley’s next drive when senior defensive back Isiaah O’Dell picked off a Titans’ pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0 at the 7:29 mark of the first quarter.
Just over a minute later Gallimore rushed for his third touchdown on his third run of the night when he scored on a 47-yard TD to make it 28-0.
Three plays after Gallimore’s score the Cougar defense put Pulaski back in scoring possession when senior linebacker Hunter Hill recovered a Hidden Valley fumble at the Titans 21-yard line.
The Cougars needed just two plays to take advantage of the turnover when Savion Thompson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 35-0.
Pulaski County wrapped up the first quarter scoring when the Cougars’ defense sacked Hidden Valley quarterback Oliver Lichtenstein in the end zone for a safety to make it 37-0 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter.
The momentum carried over into the second quarter when PC quarterback Bryant Nottingham connected with senior Taner Mace on a 4-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the period to make it 44-0.
The final first half score came from the legs of another senior Chase Lawrence who broke loose on a 43-yard TD run with 6:33 left in the quarter to extend the lead to 51-0.
While the offense was lighting up the scoreboard in the first 24 minutes, the Pulaski Co. defense did its part as well holding Hidden Valley to two first downs and forcing four turnovers.
With backups in the game and a running clock, the Cougars didn’t score in the second half, but the damage was already done.
With the win Pulaski Co. improved to 2-7 on the year and 2-3 in River Ridge District play while the Titans remained winless on the season. Despite the fact Hidden Valley came into the matchup without a victory, Akers said the Cougars’ preparation was unchanged from previous weeks.
(Hidden Valley Coach) Scott (Weaver) does a real good job in finding holes in your defense. They’re going through a tough time right now like we are, but we didn’t prepare any differently. We prepared like we did for Patrick Henry or any other opponents,” Akers said.
Pulaski County closes out their regular season this Friday when they hit the road to take on Cave Spring. The Knights were off last Friday but are coming off a 68-0 loss to Salem on October 25. Last year the Cougars closed out the regular season with a 27-20 win at home over the Knights.
Game time in Roanoke is set for 7 p.m.
