Maddox Thompson (24) breaks a long touchdown run during the second quarter against Graham. (Brian Bishop/Patriot Publishing)
By TROY SARVER
Patriot Publishing
Pulaski County marched down the field and scored on their opening possession on Friday night, but it was pretty much all downhill for the Cougars after that.
Graham, the defending Class 2 state champions, totaled 503 yards of offense as they outscored Pulaski County 35-0 in the second half pulling away for a 56-10 victory over the Cougars at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadum.
Playing just their second home game of the season, Pulaski County (2-4) gave the home crowd something to cheer about early on as they took the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards in seven plays. The drive stalled, however, when on a third-and-goal from the Graham 1 Maddox Thompson lost three yards on a run up the middle.
“We just missed a blocking assignment on that play,” Pulaski County head coach Cam Akers said.
Pulaski County’s Parker Price (34) tackles Graham quarterback Dalton Roberets (20). (Brian Bishop/Patriot Publishing)
Bryant Nottingham came on to boot a 20-yard field goal to give Pulaski County a 3-0 lead at the 8:43 mark of the first quarter.
Graham responded with a time consuming 87-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. The G-Men capped the possession with a 2-yard TD run from quarterback Dalton Roberts to make it 7-3 with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
After a three-and-out from the Cougar offense, Graham’s Cambell Fix returned the ensuing punt 34 yards to the Pulaski County 20. On the next play AJ Bradshaw ran into the end zone from 20 yards out to give the G-Men a 14-3 lead.
Pulaski County’s biggest play of the night came on their next possession when Thompson broke loose up the middle for an 85-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-10 with 10:37 left in the second quarter.
The Cougar momentum didn’t last long, though, as Graham scored on their third consecutive drive four minutes later on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Gabe Lilly to make it 21-10.
There was no more scoring the rest of the half, but Pulaski County did suffer a big loss before the break when Thompson was knocked out of the game with an injury covering a Cougar punt.
Graham wasted little time taking charge of the contest, coming out for the second half as Fix scored his second touchdown of the night on a 63-yard run on the second play of the third quarter to make it 28-10.
Carter Wilson (17) breaks a long run on the opening drive against Graham. (Brian Bishop/Patriot Publishing)
Graham would go on to score 28 unanswered points the remainder of the game while holding the Cougars to just three yards of total offense over the last 24 minutes with Thompson out of the game.
“He (Thompson) is our starting running back and no matter what level of football it is when you lose your starting running back it hurts,” Akers said. “Roshawn Hill came in and stepped up, but the game plan shrinks and we are more limited when he’s (Thompson) not in there.”
With 1:27 left in the fourth quarter and a running clock in place, Graham (3-3) had the ball at the PC 26 and had the option of taking a knee to end the game, but instead the G-Men chose to throw a 26-yard touchdown pass to make the final score 56-10.
Pulaski County came into Friday’s game in 10th place in the Region 3D playoff ratings at the halfway point of the regular season. The top eight teams in the region will earn spots in the postseason.
The Cougars return to River Ridge District action next week when they host Blacksburg for Homecoming at Joel Hicks Field. Last season Pulaski County was dominant against the Bruins, taking a 66-19 win.
Game time on Friday will be 7 p.m.
Graham 7 14 7 28 56
Pulaski County 3 7 0 0 10
PC – Nottingham 20 FG
G – Roberts 2 run (Nash kick)
G – Bradshaw 20 run (Nash kick)
PC – Thompson 85 run (Nottingham kick)
G – Lilly 1 run (Nash kick)
G – Fix 63 run (Nash kick)
G – Lilly 12 run (Nash kick)
G – Fix 44 punt return (Nash kick)
G – Groves 21 run (Nash kick)
G – Kegley 26 pass from Garrett Palmer (Nash kick)
Graham Pulaski County
First Downs 17 6
Yards Rushing 452 103
Passes C-A-I 5-7-0 4-5-0
Yards Passing 51 37
Penalties – Yards 14-131 3-30
Fumbles – lost 0-0 3-3
Punts – average 2-33 5-45.4
RUSHING – Graham, Roberts 15-131, Lilly 12-57, Gage Palmer 7-58, Bradshaw 1-20, Fix 2-81, Garrett Palmer 4-50, Lane 1-27, Graves 1-21, Isabelle 1-7, Pulaski County, Wilson 7-48, Carrasco 4-(-8), Thompson10-84, Nottingham 7-(-26), Hill 6-5
PASSING – Graham, Roberts 3-5-0-21, Garrett Palmer 2-2-0-30, Pulaski County, Nottingham 4-5-0-37
RECEIVING – Graham, Gage Palmer 2-8, Isabelle 1-4, Kegley 1-26, Lilly 1-13, Pulaski County, Carrasco 2-22, Wilson 2-15
Pulaski County’s Jackson Squires (10) tackles Graham’s Dalton Roberts (10). (Brian Bishop/Patriot Publishing)
