Friday night is being billed as the Battle of the Big Cats as the Pulaski County Cougars travel to Anne S. Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton, West Virginia, to take on the much-improved Princeton Senior High School Tigers in the third game of the season for Pulaski County.
The Cougars come into the game with a record of 1-1 after last week’s road loss to an impressive Lord Botetourt squad. In that game, the Cougars were able to move the ball at times on the ground, gaining 251 yards against a stingy Cavalier defense that flew to the ball. The Cougars gave up 314 yards on the ground, however, falling by a final score of 20-48. Big plays were a problem for the Cougars, as the defense gave up a 29-yard touchdown run and 97-yard punt return score, along with several other plays for big yardage.
“We didn’t do the greatest job of wrapping up, and they had some pretty impressive players,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “I thought we did some things well down there, but we obviously have a lot of room for improvement. We’ve been able to teach a lot of things with our film and we’re moving forward with the expectations of continuing to improve.”
The Princeton Tigers come into the game with 3-0 record. They opened the season with a 49-0 win over Lincoln County, then defeated Bluefield 27-6. Last week, the Tigers defeated Oak Hill 42-28.
The program is led by first-year Head Coach Keith Taylor. Cougar fans may remember Coach Taylor from his time at PCHS, working as an assistant coach for the football team and as the JV baseball head coach. As a former student and player there, he has invigorated the Princeton program and has them moving in a positive direction. Last year, while under former Head Coach Chris Pedigo, the Tigers made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 before falling to Charleston 28-31 in the opening round on the road.
The Cougars and Tigers haven’t played for many years, but they do have a history. The first of the three meetings between the two teams was in 1981, with the Cougars winning 33-0. In 1984, the Cougars won 26-10. The last time the two teams played, Pulaski County won 41-7 in 1985.
Offensively, the Tigers have used a spread formation with the quarterback in shotgun, four wide-outs and one running back. They use motion to throw defenders off balance, and throw the ball quite a bit using slants and screens, along with a running game that features the option and a power game. They can also throw the ball deep very well and have the quarterback and receivers to do so. Given the opportunity to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers outside, the Tigers have the ability to strike quickly.
Defensively the Tigers like to line up in a four-man front most of the time, but can shift into different alignments as needed. They are tough up front, move well to the ball, and tackle well. The Tigers like to blitz regularly and use that to keep opposing offenses off balance.
Players to watch for Princeton include sophomore quarterback Chance Barker, who went 10-of-16 for 164 yards against Bluefield. Senior co-captain and center Eli Campbell (6’3”, 290) has committed to the United States Air Force Academy. Senior wideout Dominick Collins (5’10”, 160) had a 39-yard punt return and 70-yard touchdown catch recently against Bluefield. He has been offered by Shephard University and Charleston University. Running back Marquel Lowe also added a 39-yard scoring run against the Beavers.
“They’re a pretty good football team,” Coach Akers said. “Our schedule is full of those. It’s not going to get any easier for sure. Coach Taylor is doing some great things with that program and they’re going to be one to watch in West Virginia. For us, it’s still just all about the basics. We’re not going to do anything fancy. Our kids need to take the field and perform. It may get old to hear, but we need to focus on the fundamentals and play unselfish football. Our guys may have been banged around a little bit, but they’ve not given up. They’ll fight for each other every play and that’s what we expect.”
For Pulaski County, expect the lineup to stay much the same as the past two weeks. Offensively, senior Chris Gallimore will handle the quarterback duties with sophomore Bryant Nottingham ready to back him up. The A-backs will be a combination of senior Tyler Underwood and juniors Chase Lawrence and Isaiah O’Dell. The slot back will be handled by junior Trevor Gallimore and sophomore Savion Thompson. The wide outs will be senior Marcus Reed and junior Tanner Mace.
The offensive front will see sophomore Blake Ratcliff at center with juniors Noah Hinkley and Aiden Moore at guards. The tackles will be a combination of senior Jack Allen, junior Hunter Hill, and sophomore Chase King.
The defensive front will have senior Duncan Umberger at the nose, with Allen and junior Gavin Lytton at the tackles on one side and Moore on the other. The outside linebackers/defensive ends will be a rotation of Reed, Gallimore, Thompson, and freshman Parker Price. The secondary will have junior Chase Lawrence at free safety, O’Dell at strong safety, and Mace and Nottingham at the corners.
Nottingham will also handle the kicking and punting duties. The holder will be O’Dell, with Gallimore or Lawrence handling the long snapping.
Game time Friday night is set for 7 p.m. in Princeton. If you can’t get to the game in person, be sure to listen in on 107.1 WPSK for the play-by-play action from Randy Dunnigan and Tony Powell beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the pregame show.