The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team was shut out in its opening game of the season last Friday, Aug. 28, in La Jara, falling 31-0 to the Centauri Falcons.
Despite the scoreline, coach Nathan Morales explained that there were still “a lot of good takeaways” from the game.
He noted that the Falcons are consistently a tough opponent and that the Pirates gave up eight plays that made the difference in the game, with the Falcons scoring on five of those.
The Falcons put up a total of 350 yards of offense and took an 18-0 lead into halftime. They would go on to score a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters, converting one extra point to bring the final score to 31-0.
“I gotta do a better job of making sure we’re prepared for an opponent like that early on,” Morales said.
He mentioned the Pirates had eight new starters on defense and nine new starters on offense compared to last season.
Morales also explained the Pirates need to do a better job of blocking, running the ball and finishing tackles.
“I need to make sure we execute better,” Morales said, adding, “It’s all on me.”
Morales also spoke about how the Pirates will continue to grow together as this group gets more experience with each other.
“When they get experience, they’re gonna get better,” Morales said of the Pirates.
Morales explained that, other than the handful of big plays the Pirates gave up, he thought the team put in a good outing.
“I thought we played really well,” he said, adding, “We’re all gonna learn and grow together.”
Morales explained that the goal for the Pirates is to function as a unit “to be the best that we can be.”
“We just gotta execute,” he said.
The Pirates put up a total of 116 yards of total offense, with quarterback Kasen Limebrook completing one of three pass attempts to receiver Noah Bellina for 7 yards.
The Pirates rushed for a total of 109 yards on the night, with Hudson Mazur leading the team with 60 yards on seven attempts.
Limebrook rushed for a total of 3 yards on five attempts, Bellina rushed for a total of 8 yards on eight attempts, Colby Ross rushed for a total of 23 yards on nine attempts and Gage Sams rushed for a total of 15 yards on 11 attempts.
On the defensive side, Mazur led the Pirates in tackles on the night with a total of six, followed by Zander Lefthandbull and Sams, who each had four tackles.
Mark Ray tallied three tackles, with one for a loss of 3 yards on the play.
Reese Jenkins came up with four tackles on the night, as well.
Looking forward to this week’s matchup against the Salida Spartans at home, Morales mentioned, “It’s always good to play in front of your friends and family.”
The Pirates will take on the Spartans this Friday, Aug. 28, at Golden Peaks Stadium at 7 p.m.
clayton@pagosasun.com
>