Patricia Smith
Gadsden County News Service
This football season was a season of learning and growing…growing into a more mature and developed team of young men who came a long way from where they started.
Last week the Pirates embraced senior night not only as a milestone celebration, but as a winning experience on the shipyard field for the season’s end. They didn’t meet all the goals Head Coach Bill Thomas had hoped for, but they made progress that proved they were listening and learning even though there were times it seemed like they weren’t.
The young men enjoyed the last game and the smiles on their faces shined throughout the entire game. T
The night was young and within the first five minutes of the football game Sneads TyShawn Travis (#14) zig-zagged his way into the endzone scoring the first touchdown! A two-point conversion attempt was deemed no good.
The Buccaneers worked hard through the first quarter and with determination made a touchdown of their own with a good kick and the scoring pushed them into a 1-point lead over the Pirates. It wasn’t long after that with only 1:34 left in the first quarter that Tyran Thomas (#21) scrambled to score for his team, bumping them back up with a 12-7 lead. The Sneads kicker missed another kick, and no extra points were accumulated.
Second Quarter – It only took two minutes for the Buccaneers to take the lead back with a 14-12 score shadowing over the Pirates.
Sneads quarterback Jamarhi Scott (#1) passed the ball to Travis (#14) who then in turn tossed the ball like a hot potato into the arms of Brandon Leonard (#73) attempting to gain more yardage, but he didn’t get far before being pinned to the ground. It was still an impressive play, and they did a great job trying! It took a lot of work after that, but Scott was finally able to complete a pass to Travis who was only a few steps away from the endzone. “Touchdown Pirates! Pass complete to number 14 TyShawn Travis,” exclaimed the game announcer. Instead of hiking the ball for a kickoff play, Aiden Lanier (#88) deceptively passed the ball to Kaiden Alexander (#24) successfully completing a 2-point conversion. The Pirates took the lead again 19-14.
With only seconds to spare before the end of the quarter the Buccaneers thought they would snag a quick touchdown, but time ran out and the buzzer ended the 1st half.
Third Quarter – The Sneads team had to put in some work, but Thomas achieved another touchdown to add to his count for the night. An attempt at a conversion didn’t pan out but the 26-14 score boosted their confidence as the game continued in their favor.
Fourth Quarter – The game just kept getting better and better for the Pirates especially at the beginning of the 4th when Thomas ran in his 3rd touchdown of the night! Jumping the score up to 32-14, giving the Pirates an 18-point lead.
Trying their best to catch up, the Buccaneers pushed through a crew of Pirates and managed to barely get the ball across the goal line. The determination was inspiring!
It didn’t take long for Sneads quarterback J. Scott to get the ball back into Thomas’ hands for a showstopper as fans watched him make his 4th touchdown of the night!
The lit up numbers on the scoreboard showed 38-22 and it was time for the Buccaneers to take another shot at scoring, but Sneads Traivon Danzey leaped into his spotlight moment as he caught an interception! Soon after Jarvis March (#9) tried his shot to grab an interception in the last seconds, but it was incomplete and after one more short play the buzzer sounded ending the 4th with a victory for the Sneads mighty Pirates!
The quarterbacks for both teams showed exceptional skill and did a great job completing several passes to their receivers. Both teams played well together and should be proud of the unity it took them to get through it together from start to finish.
The Pirates will be playing again this week but as of deadline on Tuesday they were still awaiting the final decision of who they will be playing and where they will be traveling to.