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Friday Night Lights

High school football preview: Pulaski

Courtesy of Paul Monnat

Ray Leach carries the ball last season for Pulaski. Now a senior, Leach was the Blue Devils’ leading rusher in 2017, with 475 yards on the ground.

By Billy HeyenSenior Staff Writer

Pulaski struggled in its first season of eight-man football, going winless in six games. The Blue Devils were young last year: just three players graduated from last year’s roster, head coach Paul Monnat said. Leading rusher, Ray Leach, and leading receiver, Dylan Basciani, both return for their senior seasons, though. The Blue Devils feel like they understand the eight-man game better and will be looking for their first win in the new format.

Here’s our preview of Pulaski football for the 2018 season.

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2017 record: 0-6

Head Coach: Paul Monnat; second season as head coach

Driving distance from SU: 38.4 miles



Players from last year’s team who graduated: Three

Notable returners:

  • Ray Leach; Senior RB/S; team-high 475 rushing yards and four TD in 2017
  • Dylan Basciani; Senior WR/DB; 10 catches for 224 yards and three TD in 2017
  • Evan Colvin; Senior WR/DE
  • Austin Crowl; Junior WR/DB

Opening game: Saturday, Sept. 15 at home against South Lewis. Due to an influx of new teams moving to eight-man football, Monnat said the schedule is subject to change.

Key storylines:

  • Finding a way to build the program up for the future
  • Getting past last season’s winless record in what Monnat called an “adjustment year” into the flow of eight-man football

What they’re saying:

Head coach Paul Monnat: “Last year was an adjustment year. We had to go through, find out what works, what doesn’t work … These guys have worked very hard in the offseason to get where we are now and hopefully we can pick up the pace and play some good football.”

WR/DB Dylan Basciani: “Definitely a lot more confident in us going in this year in what we can do, because we know what to expect and what we’re going to do already.”

WR/DB Austin Crowl: “We’re gonna do OK this year. We are a running-based team. I feel like we’re going to do a lot of smashmouth football. And I feel like we’ll be fine. Considering we do have bigger linemen this year for people to protect me and whatnot. I’m feeling pretty confident about that.”

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