Pinckney, MI. – On a crisp fall evening with the full moon shrouded under the clouds over Pirates stadium the Pinckney Pirates dominated over the visiting Jackson Vikings defeating them in a 56-21 victory. A light rain fell as the Vikings moved the ball downfield thanks largely in part to their running back Dorion Riley fumbling the ball and Vikings receiver John Cole recovering and taking it to the end zone but the touchdown was called back due to an illegal block in the back. The Vikings then drove the ball to the Pirates 1-yard line but the stalwart Pirates defense stripped Riley of the ball and Pirate defensive back Lucas Pasternak ran the ball back untouched for a record-setting 99-yard touchdown giving the Pirates the early 7-0 lead.
Jackson drove the ball down the field but the Pirates forced them into a 4th and short situation and they couldn’t convert giving the Pirates their first shot on offense for the night. And the offense was clicking on all cylinders with two quick plays, a deep 45-yard completion and a quick scoring strike from Pirates senior quarterback Luke Lovell to junior receiver Caleb Wardlow. Then up 14-0, the Pirates pulled some early magic out of their bag of tricks with an onside kick recovered by kicker Max Gonos setting the Pirates up at the Vikings 42-yard line. The Pirates didn’t play around with Lovell hitting a wide-open Wardlow deep with a perfect pass for the score giving the Pirates a huge early lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
Jackson was backed up in their own end after a deep Gonos kick and a swarming defense and couldn’t move the ball at all, including trying a reverse on third and long and forced them to punt from their own 10. The Pirates took over after the punt and it didn’t take long for Junior Bryce White to add to the Pirates big lead, forcing tacklers to miss with great jukes and speed behind some solid blocking to give the Pirates a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Jackson got on the board with 4 minutes left to go in the first half with Riley on a 4-yard run but the 2 point conversion was broken up by the tough Pirates defense giving them a 28-6 lead. Jackson tried an onside kick but Pinckney saw it coming and recovered giving them good field position. After a 45 yard completion the Pirates had first and goal at the 6-yard line. Pirates quarterback Lovell then ran the ball in on the keeper after a great fake to give the Pirates a huge 35-6 lead.
After a quick 3 and out for the Vikings the Pirates took over again and with a minute sixteen to go, it was Lovell connecting with Wardlow for his third touchdown reception of the night for a huge 42-6 Pirates lead. Jackson would score with just seconds left to go in the first half and convert on the 2 point conversion and would go into the half down 42-14.
With a huge lead and a running clock, the Pirates were able to play many of their younger players and backups to show the potential they have in the coming years. But the Pirates were still able to stop the Vikings from scoring in the third quarter and were able to add another score going into the final stanza of the game up 49-14.
With about 10 minutes to go in the fourth, the Pirates drove down the field and went to line up for a field goal as they were stopped short on third down, but the Vikings jumped offsides giving the Pirates a first down. A minute and a few plays later Pirates junior running back Anden Schingeck plowed up the middle for the score giving the Pirates a huge 56-14 lead. Jackson would score once more to cut the lead to 35 points as Riley took it in for the score for them. And that would be all she wrote in the game as the Pirates celebrated their second victory of the season.
“This a great group of guys, I’m very proud of this team and the brotherhood we have,” Pirate Head coach Rod Beaton stated after the game. “I love this team, I love how this team is coming together.”
The Pirates dominated in nearly every stat on the evening especially in the second quarter when they exploded for 35 points and nearly 300 yards of total offense. Jackson star running back Riley scored all 3 of Jackson’s touchdowns and was the workhorse for his team running the ball nearly 30 times. Pinckney was led by Lovell who was 11-for-14 for 269 yards and four touchdowns while his favorite receiver on the night Wardlow caught four passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Jack Trachet caught six passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, and Bryce White ran eight times for 88 yards and a score.
“I love this team, we are preaching brotherhood this year,” Lovell, in his first season as varsity quarterback stated after his team’s huge victory. “The thing I love about our team is the unity we have and we don’t stop. We fight until the end of the game. It’s tough without a big crowd because of COVID but we all rally around each other in our community and we create our own positive energy and we do what we can and have fun.”
Pinckney will travel to 3-0 Chelsea for a 7 o’clock kickoff next Friday. Chelsea is coming off a 42-21 victory over Division 7 Schoolcraft after Adrian had to cancel the game because of a lack of players due to many injuries.
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