The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team was eliminated from the state playoffs after suffering a 49-7 defeat in its first-round playoff matchup against The Classical Academy Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 9, in Colorado Springs.
The Pirates finished their season with an overall record of 5-5, including a league mark of 2-2.
In Saturday’s matchup, the Pirates put up 96 yards of total offense while allowing the Spartans to rack up 369 yards of total offense.
According to stats from MaxPreps, Colton Lucero led the Pirates in rushing with a total of 35 yards on 18 carries.
Seth Zeigler tallied 11 rushing yards on three carries while also racking up 41 receiving yards off of three receptions.
Pirate quarterback Creede Dozier had a total of two rushing yards on five carries while completing four out of 13 pass attempts for a total of 48 yards.
Jaxten Schiel had one reception for seven yards on the day.
The Pirates’ only touchdown on the day came from a defensive fumble recovery by Davian Coss in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates tallied a total of 25 solo tackles on the day, with Lucero and Schiel leading the team with six and five solo tackles, respectively.
Coach Nathan Morales explained the Pirates were able to make it into Colorado Springs on Friday, Nov. 8, before a heavy winter storm rolled through the area.
Morales mentioned that the Spartans were a tough opponent, but that the Pirates had a couple of opportunities early on in the game to either get on the scoreboard or gain momentum.
“We missed a couple opportunities early,” he said.
Morales noted the Pirates went into the matchup knowing “we have a chance” given the “special group of kids” on this year’s roster.
Morales explained that the Spartans were able to convert on a couple of big plays early on that made it difficult for the Pirates to regain any momentum.
“When you give a team of their caliber a two or three score lead, it’s hard to get the momentum back,” he said, explaining the Spartans were able to keep the gas pedal down.
He added, “We had to limit those things, and we didn’t and I take responsibility for that.”
Morales commented on the Pirates’ effort throughout the season, saying he’s “proud of the way the guys fought all season.”
He went on to speak about the six seniors on this year’s team: Schiel, Zeigler, Coss, Aven Cole, Kyler Espinoza and Jesus Serratos.
Morales mentioned how proud he is of those six seniors.
“I’m so thankful for them and what they’ve put into this program, and they’re definitely going to be missed,” he said.
Morales mentioned that the Pirates had a foreign exchange student, Tommaso Nigro, who will be leaving the team, as well.
Morales also noted this year’s seniors are products of previous senior classes that have helped build up the Pirate football program.
“Every year we lose a good group of seniors, and that’s the reason why we’ve been so successful the last couple of years,” he said.
Morales noted the senior leadership on the Pirate football team over the past few years has been crucial to the success of the program.
“It’s gonna be a big hit to our team like it is every year,” he said.
Morales also spoke about how winning is important, but that the main goal is to create “champions of life.”
He added, “At the end of the day, we want them to be great men, and that’s what this program is about — being champions of life.”
Morales commented that he is confident that this year’s group of six seniors will be successful in life.
“I think they’re just great men,” he added. “ I lose a good group every year.”
This was Morales’ fifth season as head coach of the Pirates, as he explained the Pirates have made the playoffs in three of those seasons.
“We’re getting close,” Morales said, adding that the program is moving closer to winning trophies.
“It’s because the senior classes we’ve had the last few years,” he said.
Morales noted that he is excited about the group coming back next year, but, “for right now, I just want to focus on the seniors and what they meant to this program.”
All three of the Intermountain League teams (Pagosa, Alamosa and Montezuma-Cortez) that made it into the playoffs were eliminated in the first round.
Lucero finished the season with the second most rushing yards in the state, recording a total of 1,862 yards throughout the season, averaging 186.2 yards per game.
Lucero also led the Pirates in touchdowns, scoring 24 times throughout the year.
Dozier recorded a total of five passing touchdowns on the season, and finished with an overall quarterback rating of 80.4.
Schiel led the Pirates in receiving touchdowns, recording three throughout the season.
Schiel had a team high of four interceptions on the year, and Nigro led the Pirates in sacks with a total of four.
clayton@pagosasun.com
