varsity.roanoke.com

DUBLIN -- Luke Watson, the Auburn High transfer playing quarterback for Pulaski County now, was told he'd never seen anything like River Ridge District competition -- and that sometimes his very best might not be good enough.

Whether he was at his best against Hidden Valley Friday, he and his coaches will have to settle. Simply, he was plenty good enough this time around.

Watson had 172 yards of total offense, scored one touchdown and threw for another as he rallied the No. 2-ranked team in the state Group AA poll to a 28-16 victory over the bitterly disappointed Titans.

Hidden Valley (1-5, 0-1) was leading 16-14 and had blanked the Cougars for all but the last 1 minute, 9 seconds of the second half when Watson rolled to his left and found Antwyn Calfee open for the go-ahead touchdown.

Watson admitted to being a tad jumpy when the decisive drive began with under a couple of minutes left.

"I've got to calm down, get my fundamentals right, and hit my passes," Watson said he told himself.

The quarterback then went 3-for-4 for 55 yards during the five-play 57-yard march.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior went 5-for-12 for 72 yards and an interception for the game.

With rocket-armed Alan Castro at the controls of the Titans aerial attack, no way was that team out of it at that point.

"I don't care what the record is," Pulaski County coach Jack Turner said. "That's the best football team we've played."

But on third down, Castro, heaved his second interception of the night and safety Zane Quesenberry returned it 41 yards for the put-away TD with 35 seconds left.

I'll take responsibility for that play," Hidden Valley coach J.R. Edwards said.

Matt Songer nailed his fourth conversion kick for the final margin. He had a 29-yard field goal attempt partially blocked in the fourth quarter. That wasted the first of the Cougars' three interceptions, a pick by linebacker Tahrick Peak.

"We were making a lot of mistakes, but we got it corrected," Peak said.

Hidden Valley wasted an astonishing night by wide receiver defensive back Matt Aiken.

In addition to catching five passes for 157 yards including a 65-yarder from Castro that tied the score 7-7 in the first quarter, Aiken returned the opening kickoff of the second half 92 yards for a TD that sliced a 14-7 halftime deficit to one point. Chad Earhart missed the PAT but bounced back later with a 30-yard field goal that gave Hidden Valley a 16-14 lead with 1:30 left in the third.

The Cougars struggled to move the ball at times, but always seemed to be able to come up with a big play when they needed it. One of the biggest was a 60-yard scoring run from Watson in the first quarter on an option play to his left that the Cougars (6-0, 1-0) had never run before.

Hidden Valley 7 0 9 0--16

Pulaski County 7 7 0 14--28

P--Watson 60 run (Songer kick)

H--AQiken 65 from Castro (Earhart kick)

P--Parris 1 ruin (Songer kick)

H--Aiken 92 kickoff return (kick failed)

H--Earhart 30 field goal

P--Calfee 33 from Watson (Songer kick)

P--Quesenberry 41 interception return (Songer kick)

HV PC

First downs 8 15

Yards rushing 37 292

Passes C-A-I 11-30-3 5-12-1

Yards passing 217 72

Penalties-yards 2-15 8-65

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Punts-average 5-32.2 4-38.7

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Hidden Valley, Turner 16-37, Calfee 3-0. Pulaski County, Watson 12-100, N. Peak 16-84, Parris 13-59, Dobbins 4-24, Martin 5-25.

PASSING -- Hidden Valley, Castro 11-30-3 -- 217. Pulaski County, Watson 5-12-1 -- 72.

RECEIVING -- Hidden Valley, Aiken 5-157, Turner 1-33, Johnson 2-13, Rowe 3-14. Pulaski County, Calfee 1-33, N. Peak 1-9, Parris 1-8, Quesenberry 2-22.