It was a cold rainy day as the Pirates loaded the charter buses for Marshall, Texas. Crandall would be taking on the 6-4 Marshall Mavericks in an exciting first round playoff matchup. The Mavericks are a run heavy team and would test the Pirates defensive line all night. The weather would test both teams as a heavy mist came down the entire game.
Coach Hardin won the toss and deferred to receive the ball in the second half. Crandall was called for pass interference on the first play of the game, which put Marshall in great field position. On the fourth play of the drive, 6’1” running back Davernious Robinson took the handoff for 38 yards and the score. Marshall jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
This would not deter the Pirates as they came out swinging. The first four plays were successful rushes and completions for a combined 58 yards. Three plays later, Moffitt would connect with Samuel Omosigho in the corner of the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown reception.
The Pirate defense would come up big on the next Maverick drive with a quick three and out. Marshall was forced to punt in harsh weather conditions, and it benefitted Crandall. The bad punt set Crandall up in scoring position on the 25 yard line. Moffitt hit Joshua Smith over the shoulder for his second throwing touchdown on the night.
Marshall was forced to punt the ball again after another quick three and out series against the Pirate defense. Crandall’s offense took care of business, putting together a seven-play
scoring drive. Moffitt connected with Chris Abron for his third throwing touchdown on the night from 29 yards out. Crandall led 21-7 late in the first quarter.
The Mavericks answered back quickly with nine straight rushes of 56 yards total for the score. Crandall led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Running back Andrew Anderson and Moffitt would attack from the ground on the first five plays of the series setting up the passing game. Moffitt would connect with Smith for his second receiving touchdown on the night from 33 yards out. Crandall’s lead was back to 14 points at 28-14.
The next offensive series for Marshall would take some time and slow down the quick back and fourth scoring between both teams. It was a six minute, thirteen play scoring drive for Marshall that shrunk the lead to 28-21 Crandall.
The Pirates would answer back quickly scoring in ninety seconds! Luke Moffitt would connect with AJ Mayfield for his fifth throwing touchdown on the night from fifteen yards out. Crandall led 35-21 at this point.
Answering right back was Marshall with an eleven-play scoring drive. A mishandled snap on the extra point attempt gave the Pirates an eight point lead instead of seven.
There were fifteen seconds left on the clock when Crandall received the ball. Moffitt hit Deondre Bowman across the middle of the field for a 26 yard reception. The ball was on the Mavericks’ 36 yard line with eight seconds remaining. Moffitt hit one of his biggest targets on the field, Samuel Omosigho, on a crossing pattern. Omosigho bounced off multiple would-be tacklers into the endzone for the score as time expired in the half! Crandall led at the half 41-27.
Luke Moffitt had some unbelievable stats in the first half, throwing for six touchdowns to four different receivers. Crandall also scored on every single offensive possession in the first half which proved to be big at the end of the game.
The second half started with Crandall getting the ball and the weather getting nastier. There was a heavy mist coming down which made it harder to hold onto the ball. This proved to effect Crandall more than Marshall in the second half.
Crandall’s first series in the second half stalled, forcing them to punt. Brandon Perez’s punt only went ten yards, giving Marshall amazing field position. Marshall would hand the ball off seven straight times, scoring on the last one from 22 yards out.
On the third play of the Pirates series, Moffitt threw an interception giving the ball back to Marshall with good field position again. Marshall would hand it off seven straight times scoring on the last one from 19 yards out. Marshall tied it up 41-41.
The special teams woes continued for Crandall on their next punt. Perez was blocked this time with Marshall recovering the ball at Crandall’s own 19 yard line. This time, the Mavericks would only need four rushes to score eight yards out. Marshall took their first lead of the night in the fourth quarter 47-41. A bad snap on the extra point caused the miss which would help decide the game at the end.
The next eleven minutes would be a wet defensive battle! Crandall’s last offensive series was an amazing 14 play drive. On the third play of the drive, Moffitt would hit Logan Wilbanks over the middle of the field for a 13-yard gain and a huge first down. Six plays later, the Pirates faced a big fourth and twelve on the Mavericks 43-yard line. Moffitt connected with Wilbanks again for the 12 yard completion and another first down! Five plays later, Luke Moffitt would run it in from three yards out for the score. Crandall was back on top, 48-47, with a little over two minutes remaining.
Marshall would put together a great drive that put them in scoring position on the three yard line with 13 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Crandall Pirates defense built an absolute brick wall in Robinson’s running lane and stopped Marshall short of the goal line. The Mavericks were unable to get another snap off, giving the Pirates a hard-fought victory!
Luke Moffitt went off this game with 14 completions on 307 yards and six touchdowns. Moffitt’s legs got in on the action as well with 108 rushing yards and one touchdown!
Congratulations to the Crandall Pirates on being Bi-District Champions and moving on to the area round of playoffs. Crandall will take on Midlothian Heritage this Friday at 7pm. They will play at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl in Grand Prairie.
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