The Pirates loaded the buses for a second straight week headed to Melissa. Cardinal Stadium would be the setting for the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Go Route Game of the Week. This matchup would set up who would be at the top of the 5A-2 District 7 football standings. Melissa is the first of a few very formidable teams the Pirates will play in this tough district.
Sophomore backup quarterback Gauge Wickersham would be leading the way for the Pirate offense. Senior quarterback Luke Moffitt was out with an ankle injury. Crandall won the toss and deferred to receive the ball the second half.
Melissa’s big and fastpaced offense would start with the ball on their own 25-yard line. They would move with efficiency, marching down the field on an 11-play scoring drive. Cardinal quarterback Trever Ham dumped the ball off to tight end Gunnar Wilson for the 15-yard touchdown reception. Melissa led early 7-0.
Wickersham marched onto the field with confidence as he has seen some mop up time in multiple games earlier this season. On the second play of the drive, Wickersham dropped back to pass and was sacked for an eight-yard loss. His next four passes would all be complete to three different receivers for 66 yards! The final play of the drive was Chris Abron running it in for the score from one yard out. The score was tied 7-7 with six minutes left in the first quarter.
The next offensive possession for the Cardinals was a quick six-play scoring drive that only took a minute off the clock. Crandall’s next offensive series would stall just past midfield and lead to a Brandon Perez punt. The Pirate defense would stop Melissa and force them to punt. Melissa led 14-7 going into the second quarter.
Crandall would stall on offense after going for it on fourth and three. This gave Melissa great field position. The Cardinals started attacking through the air and were very successful. Ham found wide receiver Jacob Kusano open in the endzone for a 33-yard All photos by JASON BOWIE
touchdown reception. This put Melissa up 21-7 early in the second quarter.
The Pirates offense was forced to punt on a quick three and out giving the ball back to the Cardinals. It would take Melissa five plays and two minutes to score again. Crandall was looking to get something started on offense but to no avail. Another three and out led to a Pirate punt and Cardinal score two plays later. Melissa led 34-7 with six minutes remaining in the half.
Wickersham came back on the field ready to put a drive together. Four plays into the drive, Wickersham took a hard hit to the head. The Cardinal player was ejected from the game for targeting, and you could tell Wickersham was not himself.
The Cardinals tacked on a field goal to end the half, making the score Melissa 37, Crandall 7. Wickersham was carted off the field and transported to the hospital for treatment.
Coach Hardin brought junior receiver Michael Collins over to play quarterback. Collins had four years of experience as a quarterback before making the switch to receiver this year.
Crandall received the ball to start the second half. Collins marched the Pirate offense down the field on a seven-play scoring drive. Abron took it in from two yards out for his second touchdown of the night.
It would be a back and forth match the rest of the second half. Sooner commit Samuel Omosigho threw an ace back pass to junior receiver Joshua Smith for the score. This made the score Melissa 44 Crandall 22.
Melissa would tack on another score before the final buzzer sounded. This made the final score Melissa 50 Crandall 22.
Crandall’s Homecoming is this week. The Pirates take on Mesquite Poteet at Pirate Stadium this Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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