With their starting quarterback unavailable, the junior varsity Cougar football team pulled together to earn a 22-14 win over the visiting Cave Spring Knights Thursday at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium/Joel Hicks Field.
The two teams swapped field position throughout the first quarter, but neither could find the endzone. The Cougars finally broke the ice with 4:35 remaining in the first half. Quarterback Cole Boone called his own number, broke loose down the home sideline, and raced 26 yards for the opening score. Boone also attempted the point after kick, but it was blocked to leave the Cougars up 6-0.
Cave Spring answered with just 44 seconds remaining in the first half, taking advantage of a 17-yard pass for their first score. The PAT put the Knights up for the first time, 7-6.
The Cougars received the opening kickoff of the second half and wasted no time. With 9:38 remaining in the third quarter, running back Trevor Gallimore took the handoff from Chase Lawrence, broke through the Cave Spring defensive line, and race 52 yards down the visitors sideline for the score. He added the two-point conversion to put Pulaski County up 14-7.
The back-and-forth battle continued through the third quarter and into the fourth. With 8:06 remaining in the game, Pulaski County returned a punt to their own 37-yard line. On the very first play of the possession, Lawrence flipped the ball to Kaden Hatch. The tough freshman broke free and rumbled 47 yards to put the Cougars in scoring position. A short run by Gallimore was followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Knights, moving the ball to the two-yard line. Gallimore took the ball into the endzone for his second score of the night with 6:53 remaining in the game. Gallimore also scored the two-point conversion run, putting the Cougars up 22-7.
The Cougars kicked off and the Knights bobbled the ball, allowing Pulaski County to recover. At some point a flag was thrown, claiming the Cougars were offsides on the kickoff, even though an offsides call on a kickoff normally results in the play being blown dead.
The Cougars were forced to rekick the ball. Cave Spring made the most of the situation, adding one final score on a 32-yard pass with 5:22 remaining. The PAT was good, moving the score to 22-14 for the Cougars.
The Cougars took the kickoff and were moving the ball when another flag put them behind the chains, eventually forcing a punt. This time, the Cougar defense held strong. On first down, a Knights running back was stripped, the ball hit the ground, and Chase Lawrence came out of the pile with it. Pulaski County took three knees to end the game with the 22-14 win.
With the win, the JV Cougars move to 2-1 on the season.
Trevor Burton led the Cougar offensive attack with 16 carries for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Cole Boone added two carries for 26 yards and a score. Kaden Hatch had the one run for 47 yards. Chase Lawrence ran three times for 16 yards.
The Cougars finished with 23 carries for 205 yards and three scores. Cole Boone was 0-for-1 passing. Cave Spring ran 33 times for 99 yards and completed 6-of-13 passes for 123 yards with an interception, courtesy of Cougar Trevor Gallimore. Both Knights scores came through the air.
Pulaski County had seven penalties for 40 yards. Cave Spring had five penalties for 45 yards. Several Cougar players recorded sacks or tackles for a loss, including Hatch, Parker Midkiff, Skylor Boone, and Cole Boone.
The JV Cougars will be back in action Thursday, Sept. 29, when they travel to Bogle Stadium to face off with the Hidden Valley Titans. Game time is set for 7 p.m.