Staunton River scores 35 unanswered to beat Pulaski County
By TROY SARVER
Patriot Publishing
Four weeks into the season Pulaski County’s fans finally got to see their team at home, but after a promising start Staunton River put a damper on the Cougars’ home opener.
The Golden Eagles rallied from a 21-7 first half deficit by scoring 35 unanswered points and taking a 42-21 victory over Pulaski County on Friday night.
The game was tied 21-21 coming out of the halftime break, but Staunton River took control of the contest on their opening drive of the third quarter. Using a power running game, the Golden Eagles drove 80 yards on 15 plays taking nearly seven and half minutes off the clock. Staunton River quarterback Patrick Chewning capped off the possession with a 1-yd. sneak to make it 27-21 at the 4:34 mark of the third quarter.
“We made a couple of adjustments (at halftime). Our philosophy is ball control, and we believed our rushing attack would eventually work,” said Staunton River head coach Clay Feazell.
Pulaski County only ran three plays on their next possession before punting the ball right back to the Golden Eagles.
Again, Staunton River methodically moved the ball down the field by driving 85 yards in 11 plays with Chewning connecting with receiver Grayson Sheets on a 44-yard touchdown pass with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter to make the score 35-21 after a successful two-point conversion.
“We couldn’t get off the field. They did what they do, and we struggled to stop them,” Pulaski County head coach Cam Akers said.
Pulaski County (1-2) did have one last response in the fourth driving down to the Staunton River 13, but on a 4th-and-2 from the 13 Pulaski County quarterback Bryant Nottingham was stopped one yard short of first down yardage on a quarterback run.
Staunton River (3-1) completed the scoring moments later when Sheets scampered down the field on an 84-yard TD run.
The night got off to a great start for the Cougars as they opened the scoring on their second possession when Carter Wilson scored on a 4-yd. touchdown run to make it 7-0 with 5:42 left in the first quarter.
Staunton River responded with a touchdown on their next drive, but Pulaski County quickly answered back when running back Maddox Thompson broke loose on a 55-yard TD run to make it 14-7 with 21 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Thompson’s touchdown was part of a big night that saw him rush for a season-high 168 yards which included three runs of at least 40 yards in the first half.
Thompson scored his second touchdown of the night in an odd way early in the second quarter. With Pulaski County on Staunton River’s six-yard line, Wilson carried the ball to the three before having it knocked out of his hands by the Golden Eagles’ defense. The ball, however, rolled into the end zone where Thompson was in the right place at the right time covering it for a score to increase the Pulaski County lead to 21-7.
With 5:20 left in the second quarter, Chewning and Sheets connected on their first touchdown pass of the night from 19 yards to cut the deficit back down to a touchdown at 21-14.
The turning point of the contest came just moments later with the Cougars driving in Staunton River territory. With the ball at the Golden Eagles’ 27, Nottingham attempted to connect downfield with receiver Sammy Carrasco. The pass, though, was picked off by defensive back Zachariah Craghead at the goal line and returned to the Staunton River 35.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of the turnover, scoring just six plays later on a 4-yd. touchdown run by Lawson Ayers to make it 21-21 just before halftime.
“We are still a football team that has to learn how to deal with rough adversity and come back,” Akers said.
Pulaski County opens River Ridge District play this Friday when they travel to Roanoke to take on Cave Spring. The Cougars closed out the regular season last year with a 20-16 win over the Knights on the road.
“It sounds like a cliché, but we have to come in Monday and do the things we need to be a better football team than we were this week,” Akers said.
Staunton River 7 14 6 15 42
Pulaski County 14 7 0 0 21
PC – Wilson 4 run (Nottingham kick)
SR – Bonds 16 run (Anufriyev kick)
PC – Thompson 55 run (Nottingham kick)
PC – Thompson fumble recovery in end zone (Nottingham kick)
SR – Gra. Sheets 19 pass from Chewning (Anufriyev kick)
SR – Ayers 4 run (Anufriyev kick)
SR – Chewning 1 run (pass failed)
SR – Gra. Sheets 44 pass from Chewning (Lockliear run)
SR – Gra. Sheets 84 run (Anufriyev kick)
Staunton River Pulaski County
First Downs 18 8
Yards Rushing 353 252
Passes C-A-I 6-10-0 5-9-2
Yards Passing 143 48
Penalties-Yards 5-45 4-40
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Punts-average 1-28 2-46
RUSHING – Staunton River, Ayers 7-45, Lockliear 8-39, Craghead 20-108, Chewning 12-54, Bonds 2-13, Jackson 1-10, Gra. Sheets 1-84, Pulaski County, Thompson 13-168, Carrasco 3-8, Nottingham 12-65, Wilson 3-11
PASSING – Staunton River, Chewning 6-10-0-143, Pulaski County, Nottingham 5-9-2-48
RECEIVING – Staunton River, Gra. Sheets 4-84, Gri. Sheets 1-41, Jackson 1-18, Pulaski County, Carrasco 4-39, White 1-9