The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team fell to the St. Pius X Sartans from Albuquerque, N.M., last Friday, Sept. 4, at home by a score of 54-28.
The Pirates are now 1-2 on the season and are ranked 33rd in the state’s 2A division.
The Pirates started out strong, scoring the game’s first points on their first offensive drive from a 61-yard touchdown rush by Alex Pacheco.
Pacheco ended the night with a total of 114 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. He did not play in the second half.
The Pirates and the Sartans continued to go back and forth throughout the first half, with the Pirates taking a narrow 21-20 lead into halftime due to a blocked St. Pius X extra-point attempt.
“I thought we competed well,” coach Nathan Morales said, noting the Sartans are a quality opponent.
Coming out in the second half, the Pirates were set to receive the ball, but failed to field the kickoff, giving up the ball to the Sartans on their own 5 yard line.
“The second half got away from us with two turnovers back to back, especially with the kickoff that we didn’t get on and gave them the ball at the 5,” Morales said.
He noted that the Sartans were able to come up with another take-away on the Pirates following an offensive drive, capitalizing on two turnovers and putting up 14 points.
The Sartans led 34-21 at the end of the third quarter.
“So, that’s a huge swing when we should’ve got the ball to start the half,” Morales said. “They stole a couple possessions from us.”
The Pirates ended the night with a total of 247 yards of offense.
Noah Bellina racked up 41 yards on nine carries, Kasen Limebrook put up 25 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, Gage Sams tallied 34 yards on four carries, and Gabe Torres had one rush for 33 yards.
“I think we all played well,” Morales said, noting, “There’s still things that we got to get a lot better at.”
He specifically mentioned he’d like to see the running backs “hit the hole harder.”
He added, “Thats something I gotta coach up, but I think as a whole were getting better and were going in the right direction.”
Limebrook also completed one pass attempt on the night to Pacheco for a gain of 15 yards.
The Pirates were able to get on the board one more time late in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Hudson Mazur.
Mazur also converted four out of four extra-point attempts on the night for the Pirates.
Bellina led the Pirates in solo tackles on the night with four, followed by Sams with three.
Morales mentioned that “big plays” and “turnovers changed the game in the second half,” while also noting the Pirates did not give up a big pass play until the fourth quarter.
This week, the Pirates will begin league play as they host the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers at Golden Peaks Stadium tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.
Morales indicated that he wants to see the younger guys on the team continue to develop while also following the leadership of the senior players.
Morales also mentioned the importance of league games, noting the Pirates have six league opponents this year in the Western Slope League.
“These ones matter,” he said, describing this portion of the schedule as a “new season.”
The remainder of the Pirates’ games feature league opponents.
“We gotta win every one that we can, and it starts this week,” Morales said.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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