Redskins hand Pirates first loss

GOSNELL -- What a difference a week makes. One week after making a statement and mercy-ruling the Highland Rebels, the previously unbeaten Gosnell Pirates had the tables turned on them as the Pocahontas Redskins invaded J.W. Rea Field and shutout the host Pirates, 40-0.

It was a battle of unbeatens in a game that had the eyes of much of the state upon them but turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Gosnell came into the game averaging 45 points per game and collecting 361 yards of total offense. The Pocahontas defense blanked the Pirates on the scoreboard and held them to just 145 yards all night and evoked the mercy clock on the Pirates with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

An early sign of what was to come came on the first two series of the game. Gosnell picked up just two yards on their first drive for a quick three-and-out.

Forced to punt, the snap flew over punter Carlos Blackman's head giving the Redskins great field position at the Pirate 31 yard line for their first series. Facing a fourth-and-eight at the Pirate 29 yard line, Pocahontas quarterback Reece Coates was chased from the pocket but managed to pick up 10 yards and a first down. Three plays later, Redskin running back, Barkley Sorg, rumbled 12 yards to pay dirt to give Pocahontas a 7-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the first quarter.

From there, the next five Pirate drives of the first half ended in a punt, two interceptions, a turnover on downs and the end of the half.

Conversely, for the Redskins, they scored touchdowns on two of their final drives of the first half giving them a 20-0 lead at intermission.

"Things obviously didn't turn out the way we expected," said Pirate head coach Gary Moody. "We were right there down just 7-0 at the end of the first quarter but then we had a few things just not go our way and it sort of had a snowball effect on us."

The Pirates had their chances to stay with the Redskins in the first half. Following the first Pocahontas score, Pirate wide receiver Jordan Canty was all alone 30 yards down field but had to come back for the pass from Brandon Partee who was flushed out of the pocket. Canty made a nice diving grab to make a catch that had to potential to end with him scoring a touchdown.

The second chance came midway through the second quarter. On a Pirate fourth-and-long from their own 13, Blackman blasted a 53 yard punt in the air. Pocahontas fumbled the return and gave the Pirates the ball back trailing 7-0. Three plays later, Blackman marched 15 yards through a sea of Redskin defenders for what appeared to be a Pirate touchdown but the play was called back because of a Pirate holding penalty.

It would be the only time Blackman would see the end zone Friday night, snapping a 13-game streak of scoring a touchdown for the talented tailback. The Redskins are also the first team to hold Blackman (82 yards rushing) under 100 yards this season.

"It was just a combination of us not making plays and Pocahontas playing extremely well," said Moody. "Give them all the credit in the world. They came out and played extremely hard and extremely well."

Two Eric Wolf rushing touchdowns late in the second quarter gave the Redskins the 20-point advantage at halftime.

Any attempt at a Pirate comeback ended early in the second quarter. Gosnell forced a Redskin turnover on the opening possession of the half but Pocahontas forced the Pirates to punt. Blackman's punt was blocked and Shelby Avery picked up the lose ball and traveled 50 yards on the scoop and score for the Redskin touchdown.

A 43-yard rushing touchdown from Sorg gave Pocahontas a 34-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Wolf ended the scoring for the night with a 14-yard score with just over seven minutes to play in the fourth.

"I hate to say this but they didn't do anything that we didn't expect," said Moody. "They took away a lot of the things that we've been successful with. We did not tackle as well as we have throughout the season. You can't give a team like this extra yards. We made some mistakes that we haven't done all season. You can't do that against a quality team. When a team like Pocahontas is playing as well as they did tonight, you have to match their level and we didn't do that."

The game was a game of firsts in a lot of ways for the Pirates Friday night. It was the first time they've been shutout under coach Moody. The last time a team shutout the Pirates at home was DeQueen in the first round of the 2009 state playoffs. It was also the first home conference loss since October 21, 2011. The team that beat the Pirates that night-the Pocahontas Redskins, 42-28.

While a third straight conference championship may not be in the stars for the Pirates this year, all is certainly not lost in what has been up until Friday night, a very successful season.

"We can't let this one loss, a big loss, get us down," said Moody. "It didn't turn out the way we wanted to but we have to pick ourselves up and get ready for Westside next week. We still have a chance to finish second in the conference and have a two seed. Not that I'm satisfied but I thought we did a good job coming out and playing hard in the second half. We had a lot of injuries, especially to our line, that kept us from mounting any comeback. We were really down at halftime. I asked our kids to come out and represent the people here, our community and play with pride. I thought we did that."

The Redskins sit a top of the 3-4A standings now at 8-0, 5-0 in the conference with the Pirates in second at 6-1 overall and 4-1in the conference with just two games remaining. Gosnell heads to Westside next Friday to take on the Warriors.