The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team picked up its second consecutive win this last week, defeating the Elizabeth Cardinals 33-10 on Friday, Sept. 27, at Golden Peaks Stadium.
With that win, the Pirates improved to 3-1 on the season and moved up to fifth in the Selection and Seeding Index standings.
Coach Nathan Morales commented that it was another solid outing from the Pirates.
“I thought they played really well for four quarters,” Morales said of the Pirates.
Pagosa jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter with two rushing touchdowns from Colton Lucero — one for 5 yards and one for 30 yards.
Pirate quarterback Creede Dozier found the end zone in the second quarter with a 55-yard touchdown rush that brought the score to 20-0.
The Cardinals were able to force a safety on the Pirates following offensive possession which made it 20-2, giving the Cardinals the ball back with a few minutes left to play in the first half.
The Cardinals scored on their following possession from a 25-yard reception and a successful two-point conversion brought the score to 20-10 at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Pirates were able to find the end zone again about halfway through the fourth quarter with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Seth Zeigler, bringing the score to 26-10 following an unsuccessful extra-point attempt.
The Pirates were able to get the ball back and piece together one more scoring drive, with Lucero scoring his third rushing touchdown of the night, this time for 71 yards.
Morales commented on the Pirates’ offensive performance, noting how big runs are a byproduct of each of the 11 Pirates on the field executing their job.
He noted that the offensive line and receivers have to follow through with their blocks in order to see success in the run game the way the Pirates have been this season.
Lucero ended the game with a total of 161 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. This is Lucero’s second consecutive game with three rushing touchdowns.
Through the first four games of the season, Lucero has racked up a total of 816 rushing yards.
“He is a special back for sure; I don’t want to discredit that at all,” Morales said, noting that Lucero runs hard, and does a good job reading his blocks and finding the right holes.
Morales also noted how he has been pleased with the overall team effort.
“I’m proud of the way the team is doing their job,” he added.
Morales explained that the Pirates have strong leadership up front, with three seniors making up the team’s starting offensive line, along with a senior tight end.
“It’s a huge bonus for us,” he said.
With the Pirates finding success in their running game, Morales explained there was not really a need to throw the ball too much against the Cardinals.
Dozier ended the night completing two of four pass attempts for 80 yards. He also racked up a total of 83 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.
Lucero had one reception for 20 yards and Jayton Ross had one reception for 60 yards.
Zeigler had one carry for a 1-yard touchdown.
Alex Pacheco and Ross each had one carry on the night for 1 yard.
The Pirates ended the game with a total of 327 yards on offensive, with 80 yards through the air and 247 yards on the ground.
Gavin Carter converted three of five extra-point attempts on the night.
The Pirates’ defense came up with two turnovers on the night with interceptions by Zeigler and Adrian Vega, and the team tallied a total of 49 tackles.
Lucero led the team with 10 tackles and one sack, followed by Ross with eight solo tackles.
Zeigler and Tommaso Nigro each tallied six solo tackles.
Morales commented on the Pirates’ defensive performance, noting that they did what they set out to do every week by swarming the football and reading keys to be in position to make a play.
“I think we were a lot more disciplined this week,” he added, noting that the Pirates were not affected by penalties as much compared to their matchup against Monte Vista the week before.
“The kids played well,” he said. “They were fired up, ready to go.”
Morales added the senior and junior leadership on the team “becomes infectious” and the energy trickles out to the rest of the team.
He also commented on the support the Pirates are getting from the community.
“We’re gonna keep working hard for them, as well,” he said.
The Pirates will be on the road for their first league game of the season on Friday, Oct. 4, taking on the Salida Spartans in Salida at 7 p.m.
Morales commented that Salida is “a tough league opponent” and that the Pirates will need to have a good week of practice to make sure they are ready for the matchup.
“I hope we continue to do good things and we’re able to keep working hard,” Morales said, adding the Pirates need to stay focused.
Salida enters tomorrow’s game with a record of 2-2 on the season and are ranked 31st in the seeding index.
clayton@pagosasun.com
