The Pirates (6-3, 3-3) were upset last Friday night by the Mansfield Tiger’s (6-3, 3-3) bumping them down into sixth place in their conference. Sophomore Darryl Kattich continued his season-long ground attack on opponents with 36 carries for 236 yards and two TD’s on the evening.
It was evident that something was missing from Friday nights game and that was the dual-threat from the Pirates backfield that had been so potent up until this game. Junior Kelin Mitchell was sidelined due to an injury from the previous week. With Mitchell being out, Kattich surpassed Mitchell for the most rushing yards in the 3A conference according to MaxPreps. Kattich is at the top of the 3A rushers with 1,415 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per carry through nine games. And Mitchell is the number two rusher in the 3A with 1,157 yards, averaging 13.6 yards per carry through eight games.
Stepping up with Mitchell out, was Junior Tommy Metcalf. Metcalf carried the ball 17 times for 106 yards and had one TD on the evening. Metcalf also had one interception to end a Mansfield drive. Sophomore Hayden Partain had one reception on the night for nine yards and a TD.
The Tiger’s would take a 25-14 lead into the half but the Pirates would score two more times to get the score to 31-26 with 8:08 left in the game. Turnovers throughout the game and a barrage of penalties late in the game would plague the Pirates. Two huge penalties late would move the Pirates back and eventually set up the Tigers for their final score with :05 seconds left in the game. The final score was 43-26.
The Pirates travel to Boonville (7-2, 6-0) for their last regular-season conference game to take on the Bearcats this Friday night, November 8, at 7:00 p.m.
