SOMERSET — It was homecoming night for the Maroons on Friday, as they were desperately searching for their second victory of the year. To get that second win, they had to beat the surprisingly 4-1 South Laurel Cardinals. Much like the legendary Motley Crue song ‘Kickstart my Heart,’ the Maroons needed to ‘Kickstart their offense’ to take down their opponents.
Pulaski did just that, as the game was genuinely over after the first quarter. The Maroons ended up winning 41-6 in a game that was on a running clock before the half.
As the Maroons faced a 3rd-and-18, a quick pass from Zak Anderson to Wheeldon got the Pulaski offense going on their first drive. Another big play, this a 42 yard rush from Kasen Brock, immediately brought the Maroons into scoring position. The first score of the game then came on a seven yard touchdown pass from Zak Anderson to Ryan Anderson, and following the point after Pulaski had a quick 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the ball game.
It was a strong defensive stand for Pulaski on their first drive on that side of the ball, as they immediately forced them into a three-and-out to take possession of the ball back after the punt. Harris Denmyer grabbed a quick first down before another sideline run for Brock as he gained another 25 yards on a rush. Zak Anderson quickly grabbed his second touchdown pass of the night on a completion to Kyle Wethington wide open in the middle of the end zone, giving the Maroons a 14-0 lead with a 7:45left in the first quarter as they were unloading their frustrations from past weeks.
Zak Anderson, following a short punt, was soon in the end zone again following a completion to Dekker Wheeldon. A strong run from Brock brought the Maroons to the goal line before barreling into the end zone and after a missed point after Pulaski held a 20-0 lead just a minute after their last score.
The Cardinals were able to get their first fresh set of downs of the evening on their next drive and began to create a little bit of momentum for themselves on the offensive end. However, a deflection on a pass attempt was intercepted by Coonor Flynn as Pulaski once again took posession of the football.
A few penalties pushed the Maroon offense back before a 12 yard quarterback keeper from Zak Anderson gave them a jump start once again. Anderson didn’t wait long to strike after that, as he found Wethington for the second time of the evening wide open down the sideline for a 60 yard touchdown, increasing Pulaski’s lead to 27-0 with just over two minutes left in the period.
A bad snap led to a fumble on the next South Laurel drive and they were soon forced to punt from their own end zone, with the punt only getting out to the 15-yard line. The first quarter came to a close with the Maroons threatening to score again.
Wheeldon got his first touchdown reception of the contest on the second play in the second quarter, as he was wide open in the back of the end zone. A point after good later and the Maroons were on the brink of a running clock leading 34-0.
An errant pass by the South Laurel quarterback was behind the line of scrimmage and fumbled, with Trey Hornsby coming up with the recovery to put Pulaski in prime scoring position once again. Another score followed with Brock barging in from three yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the evening, with the running clock coming into effect as the Maroons led 41-0 with over 10 minutes to go in the half.
The defense of Pulaski stood strong on what was a solid drive by the Cardinals to take possession on a turnover on downs with about three minutes until the break. A holding penalty prevented another long Brock run that would have resulted in a touchdown before the end of the half as the Maroons went in to the break with a commanding 41-0 edge.
The second half started and Pulaski had the opportunity to play a lot of their young JV players on the defensive end with the clock still constantly running. Hornsby had a big quarterback sack to force the Cardinals to go for it on fourth and a parking lot, before turning it over on downs back to the Maroons. Luke Martin had a solid pick up on a rushing attempt to get the Maroons a fresh set of downs. Pulaski missed a field goal attempt from about 35 yards as there was still no points scored with the third quarter winding down.
The fourth quarter started as the final outcome of the contest was all but confirmed. South Laurel’s Hunter Bundy had about a 20 yard reception as the Cardinals finally found themselves on the right side of the field. A rush from Liam Newton then finally put the Cardinals in scoring territory at the 20-yard line. Senior Zach Collier put South Laurel on the scoreboard as they avoided the shutout with his touchdown rush with a little over eight minutes to go in the game. A missed PAT made the score 41-6 soon after.
Denmyer returned a squib kick past midfield as the Maroons were threatening to score one more time. Pulaski ended up turning the ball over on downs but the game was soon over as the Maroons celebrated their second victory of the year with a 41-6 blowout of the Cardinals.
Zak Anderson had a terrific first half, going 13-16 with four touchdowns and 191 yards. Brock was once again a stud on the ground, rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns in about a half of action. Denmyer, one of the top receivers in the state, only managed 28 yards, with the bulk of the yards going to Wheeldon, with 52 yards and a touchdown, and Wethington, with 83 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals didn’t produce much through the air, with Newton (69 yards) and Collier (68 yards and a touchdown) doing most of the damage.
Pulaski improves to 2-4 for the season and will be at home again next week, as they will host the Madison Central Indians out of Class 6A at 7:30 p.m.
