The Pirates came into Saturday afternoon energized and ready to play after taking off the past two weeks due to COVID-19 related issues. Excitement was in the air for it being homecoming week and the Pirates’ first district game of the season. Also brewing for another generation was the renewed rivalry between the Jackrabbits and Pirates dating back to the 3A days of both teams in the 1990s & early 2000s.
Crandall quarterback Jamonte Gordon-West had a monster game with 354 passing yards and six touchdowns on eighteen completions. The Pirates scored first in the game when Gordon-West connected with the standout freshman receiver Josh Smith on a twenty-two yard touchdown pass. The next two scores would come from the Jackrabbits’ talented running back Jon’Richard Washington. Crandall didn’t have much of an answer for Washington as he ran for 165 yards and four touchdowns on the day. Gordon-West responded in the air on the next drive with a 52-yard touchdown pass to receiver Luke Moffitt. Kicker Brandon Perez ended the first quarter with a 38-yard field goal to put the Pirates ahead 17-14.
The second quarter would be owned by the Pirates and their strong passing game. Gordon-West connected with three different receivers in the second quarter for touchdowns. First being with the speedy Sa’Von Reedy on a 43-yard connection to the endzone. The next two touchdown throws went for 76-yards each to Samuel Omosigho and Luke Moffitt. At the end of two quarters, it was 38-14 Crandall.
The Homecoming court festivities were held before the game. Chase Dye and Erika Warren were voted as King and Queen. Then the Pirate Band took the field to perform their show dressed in their Halloween costumes!
Crandall came out with a confident lead in the third quarter and was looking to capitalize on what they had built. This however was not in the plans for the Forney Jackrabbits. Forney came out with a renewed sense of energy and controlled the entire second half of the game. Quarterback Noah Garcia connected with Ronnie Harrison on a 35-yard touchdown pass. Then Washington tacked on his third touchdown run of the game to end the third quarter. Forney had narrowed the lead to 38-28 with Crandall on top.
The fourth was more of the same for Forney. Washington had a six-yard run into the endzone for his fourth touchdown of the game. Forney’s kicker Cameron Newell answered the call nailing a 25-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Little did we know what a show we would be in for and how important the kickers would be!
You rarely get to experience overtime football in high school, let alone four! Crandall started out with the first possession of overtime. Each team would have a chance to score from the 25-yard line.
Running back Chris Abron came up big for the Pirates with his first score of the day on a six-yard touchdown run. Abron finished the day with 142 yards and one touchdown on 32 attempts. Forney would answer the call with a two-yard touchdown run to make the score 45-45 at the end of the first overtime.
The next two overtimes would be the battle of the kickers! Forney started out first with the ball and Newell hit a 30-yard field goal to put Forney up. The Jackrabbits defense came up big time and pinned Crandall back deep on fourth down. Coach Hardin put his trust in Perez and sent him out to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Perez put it straight through the uprights with a few yards to spare! The score was 48-48 going into the third overtime.
Crandall started with the first possession and was stopped by Forney’s defense. Perez hit a 21-yard field goal to put Crandall up. Forney came out to try and end the game with a touchdown. The Pirate defense came up with a big stop putting a lot of pressure on Newell. Newell missed the field goal attempt, but Crandall roughed the kicker giving Forney a new set of downs and much better field position. Crandall’s defense yet again answered the call and stopped the Jackrabbit offense from getting into the endzone. Newell didn’t miss this one, nailing it from 23-yards out. The score was 51-51 going into the fourth overtime!
Forney would start with the first possession of the fourth overtime. You could see by this time the game was taking a toll on multiple players from both sides who had been playing most of the game. That didn’t stop Crandall’s defense from forcing Forney to kick another field goal. Newell made his 38-yard field goal putting all the pressure on the Crandall offense. This game saw a whopping seven field goals. Five of them being exchanged between Perez and Newell in overtime. Crandall decided to end it in the fourth overtime though. Gordon-West connected with receiver Luke Moffitt for a 25-yard touchdown ending the game after four overtimes. Moffitt had 155 receiving yards and three touchdowns on four attempts. The final score was 57-54 Crandall in an absolute thriller. Crandall’s record moved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in district play.
All photos by JASON BOWIE
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