As the final seconds ticked off of the clock at Salem Stadium, the reality of a forgettable season swarmed over the Pulaski County Cougars and their fans. The Cougars though did go out with one of their best efforts in defeat as they fought Salem tooth and nail for the entire four quarters of the football game. And while losing seven consecutive games to end the year certainly stings, there is a lot to build on and look forward to for 2010 as many young players got their chance to shine over the last month and a half.

 

The old saying goes that a football team is only as good as its last game and I believe that to be true. Head coach Jack Turner talked about how proud he was of the way his kids battled Salem and that if they had played with that kind of intensity all season, that the Cougars would be looking at a playoff birth of their own. I also agree with that statement as at times, the overall energy from this team was uneven from week to week. But coach Turner and his staff would be the first to say that everything starts with the team concept and assigning blame to players or coaches alone is futile at best. Football is the truest of team sports and the bottom line is that everyone can take part of the responsibilty for the (2-8) record and winless total in River Ridge District play.

 

Looking back, it seemed the offense never was able to get into a consistent rhythm throughout the season, especially throwing the football. There were injuries to the offensive line and quite a bit of shuffling at the five positions up front with several different players lining up at different spots. Ramell Cobbs and Jolly Martin did a nice job re-establishing the "Rocket Wing-T" during the final four games and it was nice to see senior Trey Smith have his career game in his final outing down at Salem. But again there was too much inconsistency and several untimely turnovers that proved too much to overcome, in particular during the losses to Christiansburg and Cave Spring and each mistake seemed to snowball against Pulaski County. And when you couple all of that with the region\'s toughest schedule, you are going to be doomed to fail.

 

And it was clear that the defense began to wear down over the final month of the season. Cave Spring, Hidden Valley, Blacksburg, and Salem all found running the ball against the Pulaski County defense all too easy, When the coaching staff was forced to concentrate solely on stopping the run, then that left big plays in the passing attack for the opponent. It was strange to see the defense struggle so badly after a season in which it had dominated and controlled games in 2008. But with roster turnover and key injuries, when you look inside of the structure of the collapse on the defensive side of the ball, those issues made up a lot of the problems. But one should not mistake the lack of production for a lack of effort, especially by the underclassmen who got their shot to play late in the season.

 

Matt Songer and Chase Cook did a solid job all season in the kicking game and I thought that the special teams became a strength of the club as the season developed. Chase took over the punting chores against Northside in the second game and was adept at placing the ball away from dangerous return men and keeping the field position in Pulaski County\'s favor. Matt showed a strong leg throughout the season and it was easy to see how all of his extra hard work had paid off in 2009.

 

So what does the future hold for the Cougars in 2010 and beyond? I have been asked that question dozens of times since the end of the Salem game and there is not one answer that will get Pulaski County back to playing football the way it did in 2008. How quickly folks seem to forget that the program is just one year removed from winning 12 games and playing in the state semi-finals. But the place I would start, and the place I know coach Turner will start is with hard work. And the dedication to getting 2010 off to a fast start is the off season time players put into the weight room and gaining on the experience that they saw as underclassmen. This staff will not rest until they have watched every last minute of film and studied how teams adjusted to what had made the Cougars so successful in 2008 and they will find the answers.

 

There are few communities that are represented so passionately by its high school football program as Pulaski County. And there is no one satisfied with the result of the 2009 season but I believe that every program has ebbs and flows from time to time as history as proven. The people in charge of keeping the Cougars program in the best postion to succeed are dedicated to that task and it flows from the school administartion, to the coaching staff, the players, and with the touchdown club. I have no dount that Pulaski County will be back in the hunt for a River Ridge District title in 2010 and that all of the hard work needed will be done. I appreciate the passion that is shared by so many regarding Pulaski County Cougars football and it has been a blast to write about this team from behind the microphone on this site.

 

My thanks goes out to the Touchdown Club and to all of the people who have taken the time to read my takes from week to week. I have received some wonderful feedback and I hope I was able to provide some tangible insight inside of the program. So just tell me one thing...is it time for the 2010 kickoff!!!

 

Rick.