The Pulaski County Middle School Cougar football team traveled to Read Mountain Middle School Saturday for their first scrimmage action of the season. By the end of two sessions, the younger Cougars earned high praise from their coaches.
“It was a good day of work,” Head Coach Hunter Thomas said. “This was our first time against someone in another uniform, so it was a good learning experience. I’m proud of the way our guys got after it out there, even though we gave up a few big plays. It’s all a part of learning and scrimmaging. We’ll get back to work Monday and continue to put together our plan.”
The morning started with a matchup with Read Mountain and the Cougars swapping series. As a controlled scrimmage, the coaches for both teams were on the field guiding and teaching their players. Each team was given 10 plays to cross the goal line as many times as possible, with starters and backups each being given opportunities to perform.
For Pulaski County, it looked like they were well on their way until a fumble cost them that opportunity. Still, during their first offensive series the Cougars moved the ball well on the ground with multiple running backs.
Read Mountain was held in check for seven of their 10 plays, but the other three resulted in one long rushing score and two long passing touchdowns.
The Cougars saw the ball hit the ground several times as they rotated players Cade Souder broke loose around the right side of the Cougar line for a five-yard touchdown. Souder struck again a few plays later with a 45-yard run for another score.
The Cougars faced Central Academy next, a school located in Botetourt County that also feeds Lord Botetourt High School. The Cougars scored on a long run by Jackson Squires just a few plays into the opening series. They added another score when Souder added a short touchdown run.
Central scored on a short touchdown pass during their series, but other than that play, the Cougars held them in check.
The Cougars sent the offense back on the field and added six additional touchdown as they continued to refine their offense. The total would have been seven touchdowns, after another Cougar runner raced the distance down the home sideline, but a holding call took that off the board.
Defensively, the Cougars ended the event with an interception after sacking the quarterback multiple times.