Pirates unable to tame Panthers; lose 35-7

By Cory Smith

cory@campcountynow.com

 

On a crisp Halloween night, the Pittsburg Pirates and the Princeton Panthers squared off in a game that was chock full of turnovers and bad luck.

The night got off to a great start with the Pirate defense forcing Princeton to go three-and-out on their first possession and the Pirates began their first drive with good field position. However, the Pirates would cough up the ball on a third down pass, which would start a night in which the Pirates were plagued with fumbles.

After recovering the Pittsburg fumble, Princeton quarterback, Colt Collins hooked up with a member of his receiving corps on second and nine for a Panther touchdown. With 7:09 to go in the first quarter of play, Princeton took the lead 7-0 over Pittsburg. Much of the game was a battle between the Pirate offensive line and the Panther defensive line, with an all out  war in the trenches going on for most of the night. Pittsburg was unable to capitalize on their next possession and had to punt the ball back to Princeton. The Panthers would make good use of their field position and make their way into the promise land by way of a handoff to running back, George Flores. After the extra point, the Panthers expanded their lead to 14-0 with 3:27 left in the first quarter.

The football gods would just not show any favor towards the Pirates in this matchup and Princeton’s very next drive would sum up the night. After Frezarian Harrison sacked Collins on first down, Princeton completed a pass to set up a third and one situation. Then, it happened, the turnover bug bit the Panthers and they coughed up the ball. But, as fate would have it, they recovered their own fumble and advanced the ball far enough to pick up the first down. After the fresh set of downs, Princeton would score again on another touchdown pass by Collins. With 11:53 to go in the second quarter, the score was 21-0 Panthers.

After stalling out and sending the ball back to the Panthers, the Pirate defense would provide a spark on a Princeton first down play when the ball popped free and Pittsburg pounced on it for the recovery. However, the Pirates would turn the ball right back over by way of another fumble in the red zone. Princeton would make the most of their good fortunes and score again before the expiration of the first half of play, making the Panther lead 28-0 at halftime. Returning to play, Pittsburg would respond on their first drive of the second half, which was set up by a gutsy call to go for it on fourth down. The drive culminated with a touchdown run by Sir Charles Perkins, who had 96 rushing yards on the night.

 

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