(Marcus Reed with one of his four receptions for 160 total yards Friday)
The Cougar football team traveled to Roanoke Friday evening to open the season against the Northside Vikings. Despite a big kickoff return for an early score, the Cougars put together an offensive and defensive effort strong enough to earn a 42-7 victory.
“We still made some mistakes tonight, but I’m proud of the effort and teamwork we saw out on the field,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “Our guys did a great job of backing each other up and taking care of the ball. We got a little better tonight.”
Pulaski County took the opening kickoff and put together an impressive six play drive that quickly covered 56 yards. The first score of the game came on a 20-yard run by quarterback Chris Gallimore with 9:01 left in the first quarter. The point after attempt was wide, leaving the Cougars up 6-0.
Northside answered immediately with one of their few positive moments of the night. The Northside return man took the kickoff and raced 87 yards for the special team score. They made good on the PAT, giving Northside the 7-6 lead.
The Cougars immediately went back to work. An eight-play drive with a good mix of runs and passes covered 82 yards, with Gallimore scoring from two yards out this time. Bryant Nottingham was good on the PAT, putting the Cougars up 13-7 with 4:48 remaining in the first.
The Cougar defense held Northside to a quick three and out, giving the Cougar offense another shot. They put together another impressive drive, covering 80 yards in 13 plays. This time the score came from Trevor Gallimore on a two-yard run with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter. Nottingham added the PAT to put the Cougars up 20-7.
Northside could gain no traction offensively and were forced to punt again. This time the Cougars took over at their own 43-yard line. A penalty put them behind the sticks, eventually forcing a punt. The Vikings failed to produce again and punted to the Cougar 28-yard line.
Realizing they had the Vikings on the ropes, the Cougars went for it with just over a minute left in the first half. A short run was followed by a pass from Gallimore to Marcus Reed, moving the ball 61 yards to the Northside 11-yard line. On the next play, Gallimore ran the option, tossing it to Isaiah O’Dell. He raced 12 yards into the endzone for another Pulaski County score with just 17 seconds remaining in the half. Nottingham hit the PAT to move the score to 27-7, and the Viking took a knee to end the half.
Nottingham kicked off to start the second half, putting the ball into the endzone for a touchback. The Vikings were able to move the ball and gain two first downs, but eventually punted.
The Cougars ran six plays to cover 53 yards on their next drive, scoring on a three-yard run by Trevor Gallimore with 7:16 remaining in the third. Nottingham took a break from defending passes to kick the PAT, moving the score to 34-7 for the Cougars.
Northside had another quick three and out series before punting the ball back to the Cougars. On the second play of the drive, Tyler Underwood broke through the Viking defense and raced 57 yards to give the Cougars a first and goal at the Viking one-yard line. Trevor Gallimore scored with 5:26 remaining in the third. The Cougars ran a two-point conversion, with Underwood running the ball into the endzone, to move the score to 42-7.
The Cougar coaching staff began clearing the bench at the end of the third, but the Vikings still couldn’t put the ball into the endzone. With a running clock in the fourth quarter, the Cougar backups held their own against the Viking starters to preserve the final score.
The Cougars earned 17 first downs, most of them in the first half, while holding the Vikings to eight. Most of those were earned against the Cougar backups late in the game. Pulaski County ran the ball 42 times for 257 yards. Northside ran 22 times for 87 yards. Chris Gallimore completed four of six pass attempts for 160 yards. Northside completed 10 of 17 pass attempts for 65 yards.
Pulaski County finished the game with 417 total yards. Northside had 151 total yards. The Cougars were hit with four penalties for 30 yards. Northside had 28 penalties for 28 yards.
Individually, the Cougars had a balanced approach. Chris Gallimore ran 13 times for 88 yards. Trevor Gallimore ran 18 times for 80 yards. Tyler Underwood had three carries for 78 yards. Isaiah O’Dell had one carry for 12 yards. Tanner Mace ran three times for two yards. Brock Schneider ran once for a yard. Parker Price ran twice for two yards. Trevor Lawrence ran once for minus three yards. Senior Marcus Reed caught all four of the Cougar passes for 160 yards.
“It’s always good to get a win, especially on the road, but we can’t celebrate this one too long,” Coach Akers said. “We’ll take our early bye week to work on some things and make sure we’re as ready as possible for the long run coming. We just need to keep getting better every day. One thing I do want to say is how much we all appreciated the Cougar faithful making the trip out tonight. We know we can count on Pulaski County to have our backs.”
The Cougars will have next Friday off, then travel back to Roanoke to face off with the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers Friday, September 8.