There was excitement in the air Friday night as the Pirates took the field for the first time this season under the direction of their new head coach. It was a rough start for Crandall as they allowed a 95-yard bomb and 19-yard run for touchdowns. The score was 12-0 Jacksonville at the end of one quarter.
The Pirates offense and defense both came alive in the second quarter. Running back Chris Abron started it off with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 7-12. Jacksonville was marching down the field when safety Mason Daugherty came up with an interception on the one-yard line. The Pirate defense answered the call again the next series with a big fourth down stand to get the ball back. Crandall only needed one play to score when quarterback Austin Cruise hit receiver Deondre Bowman in stride for a 79-yard touchdown pass. After a failed twopoint conversion the score was 13-12 Crandall. Mason Daugherty helped close out the half with his second interception on the night.
Jacksonville started the second half with the ball and couldn’t get anything going. Defensive lineman David Omosigho came up big time with a sack/safety. A few plays later punter Brandon Perez pinned Jacksonville deep in their own territory on the twoyard line. It didn’t take David Omosigho long to come up with his second safety on the night! This made the score 17-12. The Pirates got the ball back and Abron scored his second touchdown on the night with a six-yard touchdown run. This ended the third quarter making the score 24-12 Crandall.
The Pirates defense was working on all cylinders Friday night. Daugherty picked off his third pass in the fourth quarter, and took it all the way back for an eighty-yard score! I asked Mason about his outstanding performance Friday night. He said, “After scoring on my third pick of the night I was on top of the world, but I can’t dwell on it too much because I have tons of work left to become the player I want to be. It was definitely a fun experience!” Running back Chris Abron tacked on another rushing touchdown to close out the night. The Crandall Pirates won 38-25 giving Coach Hardin his first win as a head coach.
I asked Coach Hardin how he felt after all the hard work put in by his staff and players to get this win. Hardin said, “I can’t say enough about our players and coaches. They have worked their tails off and done a great job of focusing on us and controlling what we can during the delayed start. The way our kids have handled all the uncertainty says a lot about their commitment and character. I couldn’t be prouder of them. Winning the opener, and it being my first win as a head coach was just icing on the cake.”
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