Pulaski earns respect in 35-21 win over ‘Dores

By DOUG EADS, CJ Correspondent
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset November 07, 2009 12:54 pm

— Sometimes the numbers at the end of the day don’t tell the entire story.
Forget about the fact that visiting Perry County Central outscored Pulaski County 21-14 in the second half last night, in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Forget about the fact, (although Johnny Hines probably won’t forget any time soon), the Maroons were whistled for over 120 yards in penalties last night.
None of the above mattered as far as the big picture is concerned for Pulaski County.
The only number that mattered at the end of the night on Friday evening for Hines and crew, was the fact the Maroons had won number 16 in a row at home.
Quarterback Zach Eastham had a monster game for PC, throwing for three first half touchdowns in helping his club race out to a 21-0 lead at the intermission.
Thanks to that quick start inside the friendly confines of PC Field, the Maroons took care of the Commodores, advancing onto round two of the playoffs with a 35-21 victory over Perry Central.
So coach Hines, what did you think about your club’s quick start out of the gate last night?
“We were pretty sharp early, and I thought Zach (Eastham) really had a good first half, and our pass protection was really good,” stated Hines, after his club moved to 8-3 on the year with the win.
“I think that’s the key to our improved offense down the stretch, and that’s been our offensive line, and the great pass protection those guys have given us up front,” pointed out the Maroon head coach. “I thought Zach was really sharp mentally and had some very good reads with the ball.”
Indeed, Eastham was in the zone early on in this affair.
After Pulaski County had to punt on its opening possession of the game, the Maroons, on their next possession, were facing a fourth down and three from the Perry Central 44-yard line.
No problem.
Eastham, standing back in punt formation, took the snap and raced around the right end for a gain of 25 yards, setting up PC with a first and 10 from the Commodores 19-yard line.
With 3:52 remaining in the opening quarter, Eastham hooked up with wide receiver R.C. White for a 19-yard touchdown pass, and the Maroons were off and running with a 7-0 lead.
Eastham, who connected on 21 of 26 pass attempts on the night for a game-high 268 yards, threw two more touchdown passes in the second period of play, extending the Maroon advantage out to a 21-0 cushion at the half.
His second TD pass of the contest went to Steven McQueen for a 66-yard score, on a play that signified it was probably going to be PC’s night.
McQueen fumbled the ball after catching it while racing down the middle of the field, but the ball bounced right back up to him, and the speedster took it to the house, giving the Maroons a 14-0 cushion.
“Both of those plays were huge plays,” stated Hines.
“The fake punt was something that we felt like we could do by watching Perry Central on film,” continued the PC head coach. “Our special teams have been great all year long. We talked all week long about how this was a very good opponent that we were facing, and the good offense that they had as well as defense. We knew that special teams might make a difference in this game.”
Eastham and McQueen hooked up yet again before halftime — this time on a 14-yard pass play with just :46 left in the second quarter, and with that score, the Maroons led the Commodores 21-0 at the intermission.
In the second half, Perry Central tried its best to get off the mat, behind its own outstanding duo of quarterback Jordan Amis and tailback Bryan Rankin.
Rankin trimmed the deficit to 21-7 with his 2-yard run early in the third quarter, but Pulaski came right back, as Alex Abner scored on a 2-yard plunge, easing the lead back out to 21 points at 28-7 in favor of the Maroons.
However, after Amis connected on a 5-yard scoring toss to Allan Boggs, and a Rankin 17-yard run for another score, all of a sudden it was 28-21 PC, with 5:24 remaining in the contest.
However, that’s when R.C. White took matters into his own hands.
After Rankins second TD of the night with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter, and the electrifying two-point conversion run by Amis — a run that covered nearly 30 yards — White hammered home the proverbial nail into Perry Central’s coffin.
The senior wide out returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, and PC would have its final margin of victory, at 35-21.
“That was huge, because after R.C.’s run, that made it a two possession game again,” pointed out Hines.
“Amis is a slippery little guy and he’s hard to tackle,” said Hines. “After that crazy run on the two-point conversion that got them to 28-21, that put them back in the ballgame with just over five minutes to go. Then, R.C. takes it to the house, and basically put them back in the same position that they were in before they had the long touchdown drive.”
As for the Maroons, Pulaski County came into last night’s game as a one-seed for the playoffs and a district champion.
With last night’s victory, the Maroons improved to 8-3 on the year, and remained undefeated at home for the past three years.
Despite all of that however, Pulaski County still isn’t getting the kind of respect that coach Hines believes his club should be getting.
And, the PC head coach isn’t one bit happy about the lack of respect either.
“These boys are the most disrespected conference champions in the state of Kentucky,” stated a very candid coach Hines, in describing his team of Rodney Dangerfield’s.
“I don’t know why, because I think we’re a pretty good football team,” Hines added. “We’re three snaps away from being an undefeated team, and we’re the most disrespected team there is. I told the kids before the game, and I believe it with all my heart, that WYMT-TV was here, and we were the game of the week, because they expected to see an upset. They were here to cover Perry Central’s four over one — they weren’t here to watch us. They don’t give a crap about us.”
With last night’s win over Perry County Central, Hines and company will get a shot at some respect next week, as the Maroons will get their rematch against the team that eliminated them in round two of the playoffs from a year ago.
Thanks to Whitley County’s win over South Laurel last night, the Colonels and Maroons will square off again in the region semi finals next Friday evening.
However, one keen difference this time around, is the fact the 7-4 Colonels will have to play PC on the Maroons home turf.
Lately, make it three years and counting to be exact, that’s been a losing proposition for Maroon opponents.

PCC 0 0 13 8 — 21
PC 7 14 7 7 — 35

FIRST QUARTER
PC—White 19 pass from Eastham (Lester kick)
SECOND QUARTER
PC—McQueen 66 pass from Eastham (Lester kick)
PC—McQueen 14 pass from Eastham (Lester kick)
THIRD QUARTER
PCC—Rankin 2 run (Brashear kick)
PC—Abner 2 run (Lester kick)
PCC—Boggs 5 pass from Amis (Kick failed)
FOURTH QUARTER
PCC—Rankin 17 run (Amis conversion run)
PC—White 87 kick return (Lester kick)

RUSHING—PC, Abner 11-51 TD, Eastham 8-50, Haste 3-39. PCC, Rankin 18-134 2 TD, Amis 21-90.
PASSING—PC, Eastham 21-26 268 3 TD INT. PCC, Amis 13-22 111 TD.
RECEIVING—PC, McQueen 6-106 2 TD, Abner 6-35, Shepherd 5-37, Walden 2-60, White 2-30 TD. PCC, Beatty 5-27, White 3-40, Ashworth 3-25.

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