The two teams have played each other four times through the years, but none of those games matter as the Pulaski County Cougars and William Byrd Terriers will face off in the first round of the Class 3, Region D playoffs Friday night in Vinton.
“They are a very solid team and they’ve played tough all season,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Aker said. “They run the ball hard. They can pass the ball well and they have speed across the board. Defensively they are extremely tough. They fly to the ball and they tackle well. If you look at their games against Christiansburg, William Fleming, and Lord Botetourt you see a focused and determined squad.”
The Terriers are led by Head Coach Brad Lutz. He is in his fifth season in that position and has a combined record of 19-28. After taking over for former Head Coach Jeff Highfill in 2019, the Terriers finished 3-8 but made the playoffs, falling to Lord Botetourt in the first round. The 2020 Covid season saw them finish 4-3. William Byrd finished without a win in 2021 with an 0-9 record. In 2022 they went3-7 with a very young team, leading them to this season.
William Byrd comes into the matchup with a record of 9-1, their best regular season record since 2007. They started the season with a 72-0 thrashing over Liberty-Bedford. They defeated Hidden Valley 47-7 in week two. Their lone loss of the season came on the road in week three, dropping a 10-14 heartbreaker to the Blue Demons. From there, they defeated Bassett 31-0, Cave Spring 14-12, William Fleming 27-21 in overtime, Lord Botetourt 16-0, Franklin County 18-10, Staunton River 34-6, and Northside 35-22.
The Cougars and Terriers have played four times, with Pulaski County winning each of those games. The Cougars won 69-20 in their first meeting during the regular season in 2001. That same year, the Cougars won 28-9 in the opening round of the playoffs. In 2002, the Cougars won 28-16. In 2019, a wounded Cougar team won 19-14 on the road in Vinton.
The Cougars are entering the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 Covid season, where the Cougars lost 35-42 to GW Danville on the road under former Head Coach Mark Dixon.
Last week, Pulaski County faced a tough Cave Spring squad that was in a “win or pack up the gear” situation. The Cougars scored the opening touchdown of the night with another Trevor Gallimore touchdown run, but the Knights answered. Gallimore crossed the goal line again in the second quarter, only to have the Knights throw a touchdown pass. Chase Lawrence broke loose for an 86-yard rushing touchdown to help the Cougars retake the lead, only to see the Knights score on a short run to open the fourth quarter. The point after attempt was blocked, however, leaving the Cougars up 21-20.
With time running out, Pulaski County got a defensive stop. After gaining a first down, Cave Spring allowed Gallimore to score another rushing touchdown from 30 yards out to save time on the clock. With a 27-20 lead, the Cougars went for two in hopes of putting the game out of reach, but the try failed. The Knights recovered a bad kick near midfield, giving them excellent field position, but the Cougar defense rose to the occasion to stuff the Knights four plays in a row to preserve the win.
“I think we grew and learned a lot during the regular season,” Coach Akers said. “That’s been our goal all season. The early injuries put us in a bad spot without several players we were expecting to have as key contributors. You can’t just give up, and our guys didn’t. They’ve showed heart and grit all season. We didn’t win all the games we wanted to win, but these guys worked their tails off to get better. Making the playoffs was one of our goals. We reached it. Winning a playoff game is our next goal. We’ll find out Friday night if we can get it done.”
Game time Friday is set for 7 p.m. The stadium at William Byrd High School is located at 2902 East Washington Ave in Vinton.