Newspaper Page Text
Page IB - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Pirates defense unplugs Chargers
BY CRAIG CHATMAN
Friday night’s region
football match-up be
tween the Pirates and the
Central Macon Chargers
matched teams with 1
and 2 wins respectively.
The effort and intensity of
the game did not match
the win total of both
teams. In what can only
be described as a defen
sive battle, the Pike de
fense made all the plays
down the stretch. The
Pirates offense was able
to muster two scoring
drives, and that was just
enough. The Pirates were
able to get the 10-7 win at
Henderson Stadium.
Pike received the open
ing kick-off looking to get
on the board first, but a
4-yard loss on first down
seemed to derail the
drive. After Jake Gilpin’s
five-yard carry on third
and nine, the Pirates
brought on Ozzie O’Steen
to punt. Pike used their
special teams to their
advantage for the first
time of the night as Jakilen
King took a short snap on
the fake punt and scam
pered 22 yards for the first
down. This kept the drive
alive, and it would even
tually end in a one-yard
Gage Lee touchdown run
and a 7-0 Pirate lead. The
Pirate TD drive would be
matched by the Chargers
as their quarterback
scored on a six-yard run.
The ensuing PAT tied the
score at 7 all, and no one
in the stadium would have
believed that the scoring
was nearly over. After
trading punts, the Pirates
got the football back at
the midway point of the
second quarter and began
to march. Facing a fourth
and four at their own 35-
yard line, the Pirates sent
the field goal unit out,
PHOTO BY DONNA
KENNEDY/
JHURNDON.COM
At right,
Jakilen
King leaves
defenders
behind in
a previ
ous game.
The Pirates
defense
showed out
in the 10-7
victory over
the Chargers
Friday.
and then shifted and were
able to draw the Chargers
offsides, resulting in a first
down. The Pirates drive
stalled at the Chargers
10-yard line, and O’Steen
came on to kick the 27-
yard field goal to give the
Pirates the 10-7 lead late
in the first half.
The third quarter was
scoreless for both teams,
however, that doesn’t
mean that it was less
interesting. The Pirates
defense got a clutch three
and out on the Chargers’
opening possession. After
a very short punt, the
Pirates had a huge 44-
yard run on the opening
play of the second half. It
should have set them up
on first and goal at the 8,
but it was called back due
to a holding penalty. That
was the theme of the sec
ond half for the Pirates
offense, missed opportu
nities. The Pirate offense
may have been struggling
to finish drives, but the
Pirate defense was play
ing in dominating fashion.
They answered the call
all night, and the fourth
quarter was no different.
The Pirates offense
failed to convert on a
fourth and two on the
second play of the fourth
quarter, and the ensuing
drive for the Chargers
moved them inside the Pi
rates 30-yard line. A great,
disciplined pass rush and
excellent coverage al
lowed the Pirates to come
up with a huge third down
stop to get the ball back.
The Pirates were able to
move the ball 64 yards in
the ensuing possession,
running nearly 6 minutes
off the clock. However,
O’Steen missed a 33-yard
field goal, and Central
Macon took over at their
own 20 with just over
2:20 seconds to go and
no timeouts. Huge plays
were made by the Pirates
defense, and they were
able to stop the Chargers
on fourth and two with
1:40 remaining in the
game. The offense came in
and kneeled it down three
times to secure the region
road victory.
The offense was paced
by Jakilen King with 129
total yards (93 rushing,
36 return), while fullback
Jake Gilpin added 57
yards on 11 carries and
Riley Gordon added 84
yards on 7 carries. Gage
Lee had 10 rushes for 28
yards, but he did account
for the only Pirates TD
of the game. The victory
moves Pike to 3-5 overall
and 2-3 in region 2-AAA.
The Pirates return to ac
tion Friday, Oct. 29 on the
road at Americus-Sumter
High School at 7:30 p.m.
770-567-5353
Undefeated champions!
PCHS PLATERS OF THE WEEK
October 22 nd vs. Central Macon Chargers
Defensive Player
#29 Wyatt Cochran
5 Solo Tackles
Offensive Player
#53 Caleb Greene
OL Tremendous job blocking
all night long
Special Teams Player
#58 Ian White
Executed perfect snaps on a
fake punt and game winning
FG
PHOTOS BY RACHEL McDANIEL / PIKE COUNTY JOURNAL REPORTER
The Pike County Middle School softball team outscored their opponents by 107 runs to seven
runs during the regular season and 18 runs to one run in the playoffs. They won the GSMS
Region Championship with an undefeated 13-0 record.
PCMS Lady Pirates dominate
Cindy’s Florist
Cindy Hurd, Owner
595 Griffin Street • Zebul
Lady Pirates batters who hit over-the-fence homeruns in the
championship game include (l-r) eighth grader Linzie Davis,
seventh grader Maliyah Holmes and sixth grader Ella Alpough.
The Pike County Mid
dle School Lady Pirates
softball team remained
undefeated at 11-0 for the
season and they dominat
ed the playoffs, beating
Henderson 9-1 and shut
ting out Gray Station 9-0
to earn the 2021 MGMSAL
Region Championship.
Led by outstanding
pitching from eighth grad
ers Linzie Davis, Haislynn
Cromer and Kerrah Foster,
there were several no
hitters and a perfect game
tossed against Bryon. The
Lady Pirates out scored
opponents 107 runs to 7
in the regular season with
eight shut outs. They out
scored opponents in the
playoffs 18 runs to one.
Linzie Davis pitched
a no-hitter for the Lady
Pirates as they defeated
Gray Station in Thursday’s
Region Championship.
She pitched 57 pitches
over five innings, allow
ing no runs, hits or walks
while striking out nine.
The Lady Pirates’
offense shined as well
in the championship
game as three over-the-
fence homeruns were
hit by Linzie Davis, Ella
Alpough and Maliyah
Holmes. Haislynn Cromer
started the game off with
a double and went 2-for-3
at the plate as did Ella
Alpough and Layla Moss.
The Lady Pirates de
feated region rival Hen
derson on Oct. 19 to make
it to the championship
game. Linzie Davis pitched
all five innings, allowing
one run on three hits,
striking out 10 and walking
one. Despite some of the
toughest pitching they’d
seen all season, KK Foster
hit a grand slam in the vic
tory as Maliyah Holmes hit
a triple and a double.
The ladies finished
their regular season with a
17-0 victory over Upson-
The champions included eighth graders (l-r) KK Foster, Haislynn
Cromer, Mia Colbert, Maya Gales, Linzie Davis and Layla Moss.
Lee Oct. 1 as eighth grader
Haislynn Cromer pitched
the shut out game, allow
ing no runs over four in
nings and striking out 10.
The Lady Pirates offense
was strong as they scored
10 runs in the first inning
with Ella Alpough, Maliyah
Holmes, Presli Readdy,
Adyson Norris, Ashlyn
Maddock and Maya Gales
all sending runners across
the plate with RBIs in the
inning. KK Foster and
Haislynn Cromer also had
hits in the win.
“Being new to Pike,
1 didn’t know what to
expect. Once we began
summer work outs, 1 knew
we had the potential to do
something special not just
this season, but to build
for years to come,” said
coach Ali Burch. “These
students were asked to
fill roles they’ve never
been charged with before,
and we as coaches are
extremely proud of their
hard work and perfor
mance; we are even more
proud of how they have
grown as individuals.
While we have an out
standing group of eighth
grade players, we have
some incredible younger
talent that has had the
opportunity to be a part of
this experience every step
of the way. They under
stand what it takes to com
pete and 1 am excited for
them to pick up the torch.
Our theme this season has
been “Pirates LEAD” and
they have done just that!”
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