New Pulaski County Middle School Football Head Coach Hunter Thomas has had his team looking impressive during preseason action, but the first big test of the season came Thursday when the Cougars hosted Andrew Lewis to open the regular season.
Final score: Pulaski County 46, Andrew Lewis 6.
Like some other schools, Andrew Lewis has two football teams. This team that took on the Cougars was what’s considered their B-team, made up of mostly seventh graders. The Cougars were also a bit down, with at least one player … the scheduled starting quarterback … out with Covid. The Cougars reacted by putting the next gold helmet in the lineup and rolling to a big win.
After the two teams traded punts on their opening possessions, Pulaski County went to work. A big 43-yard scamper by JD Grubb moved the Cougars into striking distance. Seventh grade quarterback Tucker Williams ran into the endzone from three yards out with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter. Kaleb Sartin made good on the two-point run, putting the Cougars up 8-0.
A dominating defensive effort that played out for the entire game held the Wolverines in check, forcing a punt. Runs by Maddox Thompson, Caleb Cregger, and Jones moved the ball downfield quickly. Grubb hit paydirt from eight yards out with 5:25 remaining in the second quarter. Thompson scored the two-point run to put Pulaski County up 16-0.
Another exchange of punts left Andrew Lewis with the ball. A pass attempt was swatted down at the line by Parker Price, then on the next play a big hit jarred the ball loose. Rylan Coleman alertly pounced on the ball to give the Cougars another scoring opportunity.
They made good on that chance two plays later. A five yard run by Thompson was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Cregger with just 20 seconds remaining in the half. Williams ran the two-pointer in to give the Cougars a 32-0 lead.
The lone letdown of the game for Pulaski County came on the next kickoff. A Wolverine runner fielded the ball and weaved his way through the Cougar special teams unit on his way to an 83-yard kickoff return. The point after was no good, leaving the Cougars up 32-6 at the half.
The Cougar defense started the second half off with the same attacking mindset. Tackles by Price and Riley O’Neal for a loss left the Andrew Lewis offense dazed, forcing another punt.
On fourth down and three, Williams handed off to Sartin, who raced 53-yards with a Wolverine defender hanging off him for a part of the trip for another score. The two-point run was fumbled into the endzone, where Price recovered it to move the score to 40-6 for the Cougars with 3:09 remaining in the third.
The clock seemed to run faster after that, but the Cougars scored again. With 3:55 remaining in the game, Boone Blevins came in at quarterback. He connected with Grubb on a 38-yard pass and run to move the ball close. On the next play he hit Williams for a 28-yard touchdown pass, putting the Cougars up 46-6 after the failed two-point attempt.
The game ended with Andrew Lewis completing one pass for a one-yard gain. It turned out to be their lone positive yard of offense for the night after Cougar defenders recorded 10 total defensive plays for Wolverine negative yardage.
Grubb led the rushing effort with eight carried for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Sartin ran four times for 46 yards and a score. Cregger had four carries for 22 yards. Williams ran four times for 10 yards and a score. Thompson had four carries for nine yards.
Cougar running backs put together 24 total carries for 191 yards and four scores. Pulaski County also completed three of four passes for 84 yards and two more touchdowns. The Cougars ended with 274 yards of total offense.
Andrew Lewis had 20 carries for 0 yards and completed only one of six pass attempts for one yard, giving them a total of one yard of offense on the night.
Tackles for a loss were recorded by Thompson, O’Neal, Allen, Cregger, Price (2) and Sartin (2).
The Cougars will travel to Clifton Forge for their next matchup, set for Thursday, September 1.
