The Gosnell Pirates look to make it three in a row this week as they host the Pocahontas Redskins Friday night at J.W. Rea Field.
The Redskins are flying high after a 33-30 win over league-leader Osceola last week thanks to Spencer Thielier's field goal in the closing moments of the game. The Pirates, meanwhile, are coming off a huge win over formerly unbeaten Highland last week at Gosnell.
Last week's contest created a three-way tie for second in the ever unpredictable 3-4A with Gosnell (5-2, 2-1), Highland (5-1, 2-1) and Pocahontas (5-1, 2-1). Osceola (3-4, 3-1) leads by 1/2 game.
"If we win out, then we're conference champs. If Osceola wins out, they're conference champs. If Highland wins out, they're conference champs. If Pocahontas wins out, they're conference champs," said Pirate head coach Brian Sims. "It's completely up for grabs this year."
The Redskins are led by Thielemier at quarterback.
"They run a lot of things out of the pistol set," said Sims. "They've had some injuries at running back, I think they're down to their third string now, but they can throw the football and throw it well."
Thielemier's favorite targets have been Jonathan Adams and Jake Baltz. On defense, they are led by Adams in the secondary and 6'6" 340-pound lineman, Dillon Warner. Last year, Thielemier broke his collarbone on the final play of the first half against the Pirates and was out for the rest of the season.
Sims says the game is all about matchups.
"Football, matchups mean as much as anything to the game," he said. "Traditionally, we've just matched up well against Pocahontas in the past. Just like they've matched up well against Osceola and we haven't."
The Pirates are beginning to hit their stride after struggling earlier in the year with a consistent offense. Gavin Sullivan is nearing the 100-yard mark again for rushing with 913 (130.4 per game)and Farontae Royster is not far behind at 758 (108.3 per game) and his 252 receiving yards puts him over the 1,000-yard mark for total offense.
They've gone back and forth effectively between the spread and double-wing.
"Last week, against Highland, we wanted to limit their touches in the second half, so we went to the double-wing more," said Sims who rarely used the double-wing offense last season.
"We don't have the strong core of senior receivers this season like we did last year. We don't have the vertical threats but as the kids are getting older and more experienced we've gotten better at it."
On defense, linebacker Klien Stewart is leading the team with tackles with 37 solo and 55 total tackles with Jordan fells right behind him with 36 solo and 50 total. Defensive end, Donyell Scott has 48 total tackles to go along with four sacks.
Some game notes: The Pirates are 10-1 over the past three years in 3-4A contests at J.W. Rea Field. Their last loss was on October 23, 2009 in a 40-16 loss to Osceola.