The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team came up just short against the Aspen Skiers last Friday, Oct. 9, losing by one point, with a final score of 29-28.
“I felt we played well enough to win and we didn’t win. So, that’s a problem,” coach Nathan Morales said, adding, “That falls on me.”
Morales noted that he needs to make sure the Pirates are prepared to finish out the second half of games when starting out strong in the first half.
The Pirates jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with rushing touchdowns by Hudson Mazur.
Aspen came close to tying it up before the end of the first quarter, but trailed 14-13 due to a missed extra-point attempt.
Early in the second quarter, Aspen converted a field goal try to take a 16-14 lead.
The Pirates hit back, finding the end zone two more times before halftime with another rushing touchdown by Mazur and throwing touchdown completed by Kasen Limebrook to Alex Pacheco.
The Pirates converted two out of four two-point attempts on the night.
They were held scoreless in the second half.
Morales commented on the Pirates not being able to come up with any points in the second half, saying, “I gotta do a better job making sure we continue to get points and have a chance to win.”
He also mentioned that turnovers were a factor during the game.
“We gotta take care of the football; that’s huge,” he said, “but I still felt we should’ve got out of there with a win regardless.”
The Pirates turned the ball over three times on the night, including one interception and two lost fumbles.
“We get into adverse situations like that; we gotta be able to get through them and find a way to be able to win still,” Morales added.
The Pirates put up a total of 387 yards on offense, including 35 passing yards and 352 rushing yards.
Gage Sams ran for a total of 55 yards on nine attempts, and Mazur racked up 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 10 attempts.
Colby Ross led the Pirates on the defensive side with eight total solo tackles, followed by Jimmy Elledge, who recorded six solo tackles.
“I thought we played well enough to win,” Morales reiterated, explaining that the Pirates ended up throwing the ball more against Aspen than any other team so far this season “just due to circumstance.”
He also noted that he thought the Pirates “ran the ball well.”
Morales also spoke about how the Pirates gave up some big plays on defense, despite being in position to shut those plays down.
He noted the Pirates need to tackle well, “and that falls on me.”
This week is homecoming week for the Pirates, who will host another league opponent in the Gunnison Cowboys.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 at Golden Peaks Stadium.
The Pirates enter the matchup as the No. 18th-ranked team in the state’s 2A division, with an overall record of 3-4, including a Western Slope League mark of 2-2.
The Cowboys enter the matchup with an overall record of 2-6 and are ranked 30th in the state.
Morales commented that the Pirates intend to have “a good outing this week for homecoming” and look forward to playing in front of their fans again.
Stormy weather has affected the Pirates’ ability to get outside for practices this week, but Morales commented, “We just gotta work through it, make sure we’re focused and get going.”
clayton@pagosasun.com
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