The Pulaski County Cougars ran over, around, and through the Hidden Valley Titan defense Friday, despite a hurricane dumping rain on Joel Hicks Field the entire day and night, to earn a convincing 41-7 victory that could have been much worse.
Cougar senior running back Trevor Burton, after spending the afternoon being named as one of the Most Valuable Cougar candidates this year, blasted the Titan defense and the Cougar record book. He ran the ball 28 times for 308 yards, scoring four touchdowns along the way.
His yardage for the night broke the single game rushing record for Pulaski County, previously held by a pretty good running back from several years ago who is now the head coach of the middle school football team, Hunter Thomas. Thomas set the previous record of 305 yards on 19 carries in 2016 against the Franklin County Eagles.
The four touchdowns came close, but didn’t break the record of five touchdowns in a game, currently held by Craig Hodge, Kwasi Scott, Frank Cobbs, Kevin Crouse, and Burton from earlier in the season against Bluefield.
The Cougars got on the board first when Burton broke free and raced 63 yards for the score with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter. Nathan Pratt hit the point after kick to put the Cougars up 7-0.
With 11:16 remaining in the second, Burton struck again from 35 yards out. This time, with the rain blasting everyone in the stadium, the PAT attempt was blocked, leaving the Cougars up 13-0.
Pulaski County wasn’t finished in the first half. Burton broke free again and raced 81 yards this time with 7:59 remaining in the half. Pratt made good on the kick attempt, leaving the Cougars up 20-0.
Hidden Valley caught the Cougars napping just before halftime. With 14 second left, Titan quarterback Brayden Moore found Max Pardon open. The Cougar defender fell down in a slick spot, allowing Pardon to go 67 yards for the score. Brody Layman hit the PAT to move the score to 20-7 heading into the break.
After that, it was all Pulaski County. The Cougar defense attacked the Titan quarterback and running backs. Meanwhile the Cougar offense continued their attack.
Burton scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 17-yard run with 7:33 remaining in the third. Pratt hit the PAT to move the score to 27-7.
The Cougar defense got in on the action. Senior Diego Turner, after a number of Cougar defenders pounded Titan quarterback Moore and forced a fumble, grabbed the ball in the endzone for the touchdown. Pratt was good on his kick, making it 34-7 with 3:40 remaining in the third.
The final score came at 10:54 in the fourth quarter. Cougar quarterback Christopher Gallimore raced 45 yards through the Titan defense to put an exclamation point on the win. Pratt’s kick made it 41-7 and the running clock allowed the Cougar backups to run the clock out.
“It’s always good to get a win, but we’ve got a ton of stuff to clean up,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “I know it was wet and slick out there, but we can’t have the fumbles. I also know there were some things happening and it got a little chippy out there, but we can’t have penalties. We’ve got a big week coming up. Salem is pretty much back to their normal selves and we’re going to have to play at our best if we want to find a way to win. We can’t make mistakes down there.”
Pulaski County finished the game with 19 first downs while allowing Hidden Valley only five. The Cougars ran 53 times for 482 yards. The Titans ran 28 times and only gained 40 yards. The Cougars were 0-for-2 passing. Hidden Valley was five-of-16 passing for 106 yards. The Cougars finished with 482 yards of offense. The Titans had 146 yards total.
Both teams had trouble holding on to the ball in the hurricane. The Cougars fumbled five times, losing it three times. The Titans fumbled six times, losing it three times.
Burton ran 28 times for 308 yards. Gallimore ran 10 times for 118 yards. Brett Jones had five carries for 34 yards, but two other runs were called back for penalties, including a long run of over 50 yards for a touchdown.
Zach Parker ran once for two yards. Bryant Nottingham ran five times for just three yards, but he also had a longer run called back for a hold. Cole Boone ran once for six yards. KJ Robinson ran once for two yards.
The leading rusher for the Titans was Jadon LaTempa, who ran six times for 44 yards.
With the win, the Cougars move to 3-2 on the season. The Cougar JV squad also earned a big win this week over Hidden Valley, earning a 55-0 victory against the Titans on the road.
The game against Salem will be on the road at Salem Stadium next Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.