The issue was never really in doubt after the first series, but the Cougar football team still made mistakes in their 48-7 win against the winless Blacksburg Bruins Friday night at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium.
Senior Trevor Burton reached the five-touchdown mark again Friday, the second time this season, gaining 183 yards on 22 carries. With that effort, Burton now has a senior season that includes 136 carries for 1,046 yards and 21 touchdowns.
“It’s always great to get a win, especially when it’s Homecoming,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “We are happy with the win, but we know Blacksburg is working to rebuild their program right now. We’re just a step or two ahead of them, so we told the kids to enjoy the dance tomorrow night and be ready to get back to work Monday.”
The scoring started early and happened often in the first half. Burton ran the ball in from 13 yards out with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter, then scored again with 1:59 remaining in the first, this time from 27 yards out. Senior kicker Nathan Pratt was good on both kick attempts to leave the Cougars up 14-0.
“We left some point on the field due to fumbles and other mistakes,” Coach Akers said. “We also knew this was a game where we needed to work some younger players into the mix. They need that experience and we’re going to need them as we keep moving forward. I think most of them did a pretty good job out there, we just need to clean some things up still.”
The second quarter was when the Cougars really turned on the pressure. Burton scored on a four-yard run with 8:39 remaining in the half, then scored from four yards out again with 6:49 remaining in the first half. Pratt hit both PAT attempts to put the Cougars up 28-0.
In an effort to continue working new things, junior quarterback Christopher Gallimore found Marcus Reed open for a 39-yard passing touchdown with 5:31 remaining in the half. This time the kick from Pratt was no good, leaving Pulaski County up 34-0.
Burton struck again from three yards out with just 27 seconds remaining in the half, his fifth of the game to again tie the record for most rushing touchdowns in a game. Pratt was good on the kick this time, leaving the Cougars up 41-0 heading into the break.
After a Homecoming halftime show that saw Olivia Viers named Homecoming Queen and Blaine Reedy named Homecoming King, the Cougars came back out to finish the job.
With a running clock, the Cougar starters played for just a short time in the second half as Coach Akers began to clear the bench. With 3:40 remaining in the third quarter, Tanner Mace ran the ball into the endzone from 11 yards out. Pratt hit the PAT to make the score 48-0.
The Bruins were able to put a score on the board against a host of Cougar backups later in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late and Pulaski County closed out the 48-7 victory.
“You know, we’ve got a bunch of guys that work really hard but don’t always get recognized,” Coach Akers said. “Everybody see’s the stats, but then you’ve got a young man like Duncan Umberger who gives it everything he has every day in practice. You’ve got guys like Trevor Lawrence, who plays in any position we ask him to play in. He might be one of the most flexible guys on the team. Nicholas Woolwine, Deigo Turner, Evan Alger, Alan Fernandez, Hunter Hill, Aiden Moore, and Nolan Dalton go out there and just put the work in every day. The stats and the touchdowns matter, but so do the effort of these guys. Without them, we don’t get the stats and touchdowns.”
The Cougars finished the game with 22 first downs. Blacksburg had six. The Cougars ran 41 times with seven different running backs for 342 yards. Blacksburg ran 28 times for 102 yards, most of the coming against the backups late in the game. The Cougars had three pass completions for 68 yards. Blacksburg completed three-of-nine pass attempts for six yards with one interception, courtesy of Cougar senior Zach Parker.
On a bad note, the Cougars fumbled three times, losing all three. Blacksburg fumbled twice, losing one.
In addition to Burtons 183 yards, Christopher Gallimore ran eight times for 53 yards. Brett Jones ran one time for 15 yards. Mace ran five times for 46 yards. Kaden Hatch ran once for 12 yards. Tyler Underwood ran three times for eight yards and Parker ran once for three yards.
Gallimore completed three-of-four pass attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown, all going to junior Marcus Reed.