Pulaski County football traditions stand out in SW Virginia

Stephen James and company talk school traditions and football in camp preview

DUBLIN, Va. – A team that went 7-4 a year ago, leading to their sixth straight playoff appearace, lost many of the skill position players including Hunter Thomas, who contributed to most of the offense in his final season. But the Cougars have some guys ready to step into big roles and continue Pulaski County's rich traditions, including the walk down the steps, the cougar, and our course playing in front of a packed house on Friday nights.

"It's crazy down there, there's so many people, right when you walk down the steps. Just real loud every Friday, glad they come out and support us," senior Chandler Dunnigan said.

"It's really overwhelming, sometimes it can get a little scary with the bigger games but it's really just getting your adrenaline pumping getting ready for the game to start," fellow senior Reymon Williams added.

"When you think of Southwest Virginia, there's a few schools that come to mind, and of course Pulaski is one of those that tradition sort of speaks for itself. And we like to think we're keeping that tradition alive and we're doing things to make sure that we are making everyone proud of our program," said head coach Stephen James.

The Cougars open their season Aug. 25 at home against Northside.