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The Cougar football team started the Cam Akers era a little later than expected due to a storm in the area, but finally got the job done with a huge 43-0 shutout win over the Northside Vikings Friday night at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.
The Cougar offense was a punishing machine throughout the night. The defensive unit was a stubborn bunch that gave up very little yardage, and when they did give it up it was at a price.
Pulaski County scored first with 5:18 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Trevor Burton ran the ball in from 10 yards out to put the Cougars on the board. Nathan Pratt hit the point after attempt to put the score at 7-0.
The Cougars smelled blood and never looked back. With 10:22 remaining in the second quarter, quarterback Chris Gallimore ran in from two yards out. Pratt hit the PAT to move the score to 14-0 Cougars.
With 5:05 remaining, Burton raced into the endzone from four yards out for his second score of the night. Pratt’s kick made it 21-0 and the route was on.
With 1:29 left in the first half, Gallimore handed off to junior Brett Jones. The speedy back cut to the center of the field and raced 31 yards for the score. Pratt tacked on the PAT for the 28-0 halftime score.
After a trackside preview of the Golden Cougar Marching Band halftime show that showed tons of improvement from last season and the introduction of the Cougar sideline cheering squad, Pulaski County came back on the field.
The Cougar defense calmly went to work to start the second half, pinning Northside deep in their own red zone and forcing a punt attempt. Senior Evan Alger broke through the Viking defensive line to block a punt attempt out of the back of the endzone for a safety, moving the score to 30-0 for the Cougars with 10:17 remaining in the third.
Pulaski County added another third quarter touchdown when Gallimore called his own number, crossing over from one yard out with 2:47 remaining in the third. The PAT by Pratt moved the score to 37-0 Pulaski County.
With backups moving into the game, the Cougar attack didn’t let up. With 4:38 remaining on a running clock, freshman running back and national champion track runner Cole Boone broke loose for 26 yards for the final score of the night. The PAT by Pratt was no good, leaving the final at 43-0 for the Cougars.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of executing our game plan tonight,” Head Coach Cam Akers said after the game. “It’s great to get a win, especially on opening night. We can’t hang our hats on this one though. Northside is young. Our schedule is going to get a lot tougher as we move forward. We’ve got to get better every day. I think we did that today.”
Pulaski County had a tremendous night statistically. The Cougars gained 19 first downs while holding the Vikings to just three. The Cougar ground attack ran 52 times for 331 yards. Northside ran 22 times for -16 yards. That leaves the Cougars with 366 yards of total offense. The Vikings had just 23 yards total offense.
Individually, the Cougars showed a balanced offensive attack with nine different Cougars running the ball, with all of them gaining positive yardage.
Trevor Burton led the way with 16 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Had it not been for the hot and humid night that gave him slight leg cramps late in the game, he would have easily eclipsed the 100 yard mark and likely scored again.
Quarterback Chris Gallimore ran 20 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed two of four pass attempts for 35 yards. Another completion was negated by a penalty.
Brett Jones ran three times for 51 yards and a score. He also caught a pass for 23 yards and recorded at least one sack while playing defense.
Freshman Cole Boone shined in his Friday night debut, running three times for 50 yards and a score. Zach Parker ran twice for 22 big yards. Tanner Mace had four carries for 17 yards and caught a pass for 12 yards. Tyler Underwood ran twice for eight yards. Freshman quarterback Bryant Nottingham earned one yard on one carry. He had another carry for big yards, but it was called back by a penalty as well.
For the Vikings, the numbers were not pretty. Mykell Harvey had two carries for four yards to lead the Northside ground attack. Myzyer Blank had one carry for two yards. Every other Viking back ran for negative yardage thanks to the stifling Cougar defense. Viking quarterback Angel Rigney completed six of 11 pass attempts for 39 yards.
On winning his first game as the Cougar Head Coach, Akers was his usual calm self.
“Our coaching staff did a great job getting our kids ready,” Akers said. “It doesn’t matter what I do, if they don’t do their part, we don’t do this. This win is about the kids. It’s all about them. We might take some lumps this season, but if we keep working hard and improving like we did tonight, good things will happen. I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud of our coaches. Our fans, cheerleaders and band were great out there tonight. It was just a great night and I’m proud to be a Cougar.”
Pulaski County will host Tennessee High School next week. Start time is set for 7 p.m.
