varsity.roanoke.com

One is the continuation of the rivalry between Franklin County and Pulaski County. Franklin County is still an enrollment giant, but Pulaski County has dwindled since winning the Group AAA Division 6 state title in 1992. Now the Cougars compete in Division 4. No longer being in the same district hasn't stopped the old rivals from continuing to play play knock-down, drag-out football with each other. The latest installment of the long-running series, a rare Saturday night engagement, was a high-quality exhibition of the gridiron arts. The final was 33-14 in favor of the still-undefeated Cougars, who couldn't have played much better. Both teams had reason to be proud of their achievements.

First, Franklin County, which was down 19-0 at halftime and may have been one bad play away from having its ears pinned back permanently. The Eagles drove 70 yards for a touchdown two possessions in a row to start the second half. Problem was, Pulaski County kept scoring, too.

"We didn't slow them up much," Franklin County coach Billy Miles said.

Pulaski County rolled up 360 yards on the ground and recorded 17 first downs. Once they punted. Cougars misbehaviors were penalized thrice for losses of 15 yards. Neither fumble nor interception did Pulaski County yield.

The Eagles (2-2) didn't have a turnover, either. Miles looked team members in their dust-encircled and bloodshot eyes afterward and told them they weren't nearly as good now as they would be later this year.

The future looks pretty good in Cougarland, too. They're particularly excited about the early development of running back Kevin Crouse, who has turned out to be an unusually imposing combination of muscle, speed and skill for a 10th grader. He had 239 yards rushing, five touchdowns and two-way duty on offense and defense.

"All I've got to say about it is our line blocked great," Crouse said. "You see holes like the ones I saw and anybody could have run through them."

Similar openings must have greeted Crouse's backfield partner, Chad Thompson, who plowed through the Eagles for 107 more rushing yards. The Eagles' tailback, senior Ronnie Edwards, put on his own brand of floor show and ended up with 128 hard-earned yards and a touchdown. He left the field for a while with what appeared to be a sore shoulder, but Miles said he expected the player to return immediately to effective playing condition.

Crouse wasn't the only sophomore who gave a good accounting of himself. Franklin County quarterback D. J. Willis ignored constant pressure from the rush to complete 10 of 16 throws for 134 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion. On the Cougars' side, 6-4, 252-pound defensive end Brent Osborne, another sophomore, had sideline-to-sideline range as a stopper and disrupter.

One more having a good sophomore campaign is Jack Turner, the Cougars second-year coach. The victory must have been particularly satisfying for Turner, who parlayed a Pulaski County playing career into a successful stint on Ferrum's team. That was followed by employment as an assistant football coach at Franklin County. Then he came back home to work for the legend he would eventually replace, Joel Hicks.

"We did well tonight for not having two starters," said Turner, mentioning ailing linebacker Rashad Simmons and sick-in-bed lineman Neil Haga, ridden with viruses. "Then we lost our best defensive back, Steven Cobbs, with a dislocated shoulder. He'll have to get that looked at Monday."

Franklin County0 0 6 8 - 14

Pulaski County6 13 0 14 - 33

PC - Crouse 64 run (kick failed)

PC - Crouse 27 run (run failed)

PC -Crouse 45 run (Piscura kick)

FC - Edwards 13 run (kick failed)

PC - Crouse 3 run (Piscura kick)

FC - Drakeford 12 pass from Willis (Naff pass from Willis)

PC - Crouse 2 run (Piscura kick)

FC PC

First downs13 18

Rush yards149 360

Comp-Att-Int10-16-0 1-2-0

Pass yards134 15

Penalties6-40 3-15

Punts-yards3-37.6 1-34

Fumbles/lost1-0 0-0

Individual statistics

RUSHING - Franklin County, Edwards 17-128, Copper 7-9, Terry 1 (-2), Willis 4-2; Pulaski County, Crouse 20-239, Thompson 1 15-107, Dean 1-12, Hodge 1-2.

PASSING - Franklin County, Willis 10-16-0-134; Pulaski County, Dean 1-2-0-15.

RECEIVING - Franklin County, Drakeford 6-74, Naff 3-52, Sigmon 1-8; Pulaski County, Thompson 1-15.