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Page 6B - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Sports
Mary Persons Dogs bite Pirates 49-14
IAN CHATMAN
Friday night’s Region
2-AAA football match-up
featuring the Pike County
Pirates taking on the
visiting Mary Persons
Bulldogs held significant
playoff implications
for both squads. If the
Pirates could beat the
Bulldogs, it would give
them an inside shot at
one of the last remaining
region playoff seeds.
Both teams entered
the Friday night contest
coming off of disappoint
ing performances and
both were looking to
get back on the win
ning track. It was Mary
Persons that found that
winning formula in a
resounding 49-14 victory
over the Pirates. Here
is a look at how it all
unfolded.
Pike County received
the opening kickoff look
ing to get on the board
first, but a well-timed
blitz was able to stop a
third and short conver
sion from being success
ful and the Pirates had
to punt on their opening
possession. A 36 yard
punt from Ozzie O’Steen
put Mary Persons at
their own 38 yard line to
begin their first offensive
possession. The Bull
dogs were able to go 62
yards on nine plays and
the opening score of the
game. The drive was kept
alive by two critical 4th
down conversions. The
first was a seven yard
scramble for a first down
to keep the chains mov
ing and the second was a
29 yard touchdown pass.
The Pirates answered
quickly on their next
drive as quarterback
Gage Lee connected
with halfback
Jakilen King
on a 66 yard
seam pass
on their first
play from
scrimmage.
O’Steen’s
extra point
tied the game
at 7-7 and it
would remain
that way until
the second
quarter when
Mary Persons took con
trol of the game.
It started with a 16
play, 60 yard TD drive to
make it a 14-7 game. This
is where the game turned
for Pike County. Needing
to mount a nice drive to
answer, the Pirate offense
was unable to get any
thing established and the
result was a three and
out. Another nice punt
from O’Steen flipped the
field nicely
for the Pirates
but the Bull
dogs were in a
nice offensive
rhythm by this
point. They
churned out
another scor
ing drive and
increased their
lead to 21-7.
The Pirate
offense found
a little trac
tion late in the first half
and had moved the ball
across midfield. Looking
to cut the lead to seven
points, a critical fumble
gave Mary Persons the
ball back at their own
36 yard line with 2:20
remaining in the first
half. The Bulldogs con
verted the turnover into
points on a 36 yard TD
run which pushed the
halftime lead to 28-7.
The third quarter had
some fireworks for both
sides as the offenses
moved the ball quickly
and efficiently. Mary Per
sons opened the second
half with a nine play, 52
yard scoring drive to
increase the lead to 35-7.
After a touchback on the
ensuing kick-off, Lee hit
Quindarius Harris for a
nine yard completion on
first down. One play later,
King took an inside hand
off 71 yards to the end
zone for his second score
of the day. The extra
point attempt by O’Steen
was good and the lead
was cut to 35-14.
O’Steen executed a
perfect onside kick on
the ensuing kick-off that
was recovered by Blayne
Patterson at the Bulldog
49 yard line. The come
back momentum was
short lived, however, as
Lee was intercepted on
the next play and that
cooled any chance of a
comeback. The Bulldogs
converted that turnover
into a TD and added
another score late in the
third quarter to get to
the final margin of vic
tory.
The Pirate Offense was
paced by King with 271
total yards (134 rushing,
91 receiving, 46 return)
and two touchdowns.
Lee threw for 109 yards
and a score.
The victory moved
Mary Persons to 4-3
overall and 3-2 in region
play. The loss dropped
the Pirates to 1-5 overall
and 1-3 in the region. The
Pirates return to action
Friday, October 15th at
home at 7:30 p.m. against
the Morrow Mustangs of
Region 4-AAAAAA.
Volleyball 2nd in region!
The Pike County High
School volleyball team
finished off a strong
season as they earned
second place in the
region on the road Oct. 6
at Jackson High School.
The Lady Pirates played
seven straight games to
earn region runnerup.
They will host the first
round of state playoffs at
Pike County High School
on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
The Lady Pirates
were 16-6 for the season,
despite facing obstacles
throughout the season.
“COV1D has been a
constant obstacle to
overcome due to the fact
of not knowing which
athletes will be quaran
tining at any point of the
season. We have been
blessed with the health
of the team overall.
This year was a year of
readjustment. We had
seven seniors graduate
who were on the team
last year. We had to
take time to rebuild and
strengthen the overall
team chemistry as we
added new players to
the varsity team that the
current five seniors were
not familiar with when
it comes to being on the
court,” said head coach
Meghan Smith.
Coach Smith is in
only her second year as
PCHS volleyball coach.
She went to high school
in Fayette County and
played volleyball for
middle and high school,
as well as club volleyball
for A5 South. She was
also able to get touches
in college as well.
“These ladies work
hard on and off the
court. Not only does
their athletic abil
ity amaze me, their
academic level does
as well. These girls are
involved in AP classes,
dual enrollment and
some also balance jobs,
extra-curriculars and
internships. 1 have been
impressed with each girl
I have worked with on
this team. We practice
four to five days a week,
starting very early in
the season. Practices
demand a lot of mental
and physical capability
and each athlete pushes
themselves to reach the
expectations 1 have set
and more,” said coach
Smith. “The relation
ships these girls have
with one another is inde
scribable. It is awesome
to see girls that are
close friends on and off
the court. Those friend
ships make a difference
when they step onto the
court.”
SUBMITTD PHOTO
The PCHS
volleyball
team earned
second place
in the region
and will host
the first
round of state
playoffs on
Tuesday, Oct.
19. Pictured
are (front row
l-r) coach
Meghan
Smith, Alexis
Barker, Layla
White, Mcken-
zie Memmler,
Kelsey Bates
(back row l-r)
Kinsey Busch,
Jada Col
bert, Sarah
Lovett, Olivia
Mitchell, Erin
Bonazza and
Lily Glover.
WL . M i
* *
fe-7 3
j^L | j ■
PCHS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
October 8 th vs. Mary Persons Bulldogs
Defensive Player
#89 Carter Steele
7 Tackles, 1 TFL
Offensive Player
#30 Jakilen King
8 Rushes, 134 yards, 1TD, 5
Catches 91 yards, 1 TD
Special Teams Player
# 7 Blayne Patterson
Recovered an Onside kick, 1
Kick Return 15 yards,
1 Big Block
We proudly present this week's
Players of the Week.
www.accessunited.com 770-567-7211
(pUnitedtank
Equal Housing Lender
SPECIAL PHOTO
The softball Lady Pirates are AAA Region Champions. Pictured are (front row l-r) Avery Mad-
dock, Austin King, Bailee Brown, Aubree Reese, Shelby Duncan, Callie Williams (middle row
l-r) Victoria Dilbeck, Skyler Howell, Marissa Hanson, Emma Smith, Madi Neal, Haley Perkins
(back row l-r) Lily Alpough, Alana Crenshaw, Jamie Corbin, Michaela Blood, Faith Stowers and
Lindsey Williams.
Softball Lady Pirates are
AAA Region Champions
PHOTOS BY KELLY CRENSHAW
Athletes on the AAA Region Championship team who have
committed to play softball in college include (l-r) Alana Cren
shaw, Bailee Brown, Madi Neal and Shelby Duncan.
The Pike County High
School softball Lady
Pirates are the 2-AAA
Region Champions after
finishing the regular sea
son 17-4 overall and 13-1
in the region.
Due to excessive
rainfall and inclement
weather, the regular sea
son records were used
for state seeding and the
Lady Pirates will host the
first round of state play
offs Wednesday, Oct. 13
at 3 p.m. at Lady Pirate
Field.
“We will play on Oct.
13 and we have request
ed that game 1 start at 3
p.m. since we are out of
school and game 2 would
be 30 minutes after game
1. It is looking like we
will play Burke Co. the
4-seed out of region 4,”
said head softball coach
Kevin Mobley. “As long
as we win, we will host
the first two rounds of
the state playoffs at Lady
Pirate Field. This team
has scored a lot of runs
on the season and is fun
to watch play. We have
averaged right at 11 runs
a game in region play.
We have four pitchers
with 20 or more innings
pitched on the season
who we feel can go out
and win games for us. We
need folks to come out
and support these girls
throughout this playoff
run.”
In the last game of
the regular season, the
Lady Pirates grabbed a
sixth-inning lead over
Upson-Lee and earned
the 8-7 victory. The
Knights scored four runs
in the first and one in
the second but the Lady
Pirates came back and
scored five runs of their
own in the third inning
to tie it up. They added
two runs in the fourth
but Upson-Lee tied it up
again in the top of the
sixth when Alana Cren
shaw singled, driving in
Emma Smith who was hit
by a pitch earlier in the
inning. Crenshaw went
3-for-4 at the plate. Faith
Stowers earned the win
for the Lady Pirates as
she pitched six innings,
allowing two runs on
four hits and striking out
four.
“The strengths of this
team include senior lead
ership with nine seniors,
our ability to score runs,
defense and the ability of
our pitchers to make big
pitches when needed,”
said coach Mobley. “Any
time you face a quality
arm you have the chance
of being shut down. In
our region, the majority
of the teams at the top
of our standings have a
couple of real good arms.
You have to find ways
to push runs across any
way possible and that
can be a challenge at
times. Jackson has two of
the best arms in the state
so that was two tough
games we had to find
a way to manufacture
some runs because you
will not stand in there
and just bully ball your
way to wins. Also, during
this time you have to
stay clear of any sickness
that could derail your
season.”
PHOTOS BY KELLY CRENSHAW
Seniors on the Pike County High School Lady Pirates team include (l-r) Bailee Brown, Emma
Smith, Shelby Duncan, Alana Crenshaw, Faith Stowers, Jamie Corbin, Haley Perkins, Madi Neal
and Skyler Howell.