Pirate Larceny Of Eagles Results in 45-14 Eagle Loss

There are a lot of numbers in a football game. The field is marked off in numbers. There are numbers on the uniforms. There are rushing numbers and passing numbers, penalty numbers and average per carry numbers. There are numbers in the play calls and there are obviously numbers on the scoreboard. Which on Friday afternoon at Rose Stadium in Tyler read Pittsburgh 45, Canton 14.

As is often the case, and was certainly the case in the Canton Eagles area round playoff loss to Pittsburg on Friday, the numbers on the scoreboard were due to the only other numbers that mattered: 8-0. Eight Eagle turnovers to zero for the Pittsburg Pirates.

So many of the other numbers were close. Pittsburg’s total offense was 424 yards, compared to Canton’s total of 407. Pittsburg’s talented quarterback, Kendall Wright passed for 136 yards, and ran for 132, while Casey Bell passes for 266, and ran for 115. But there’s no way to overcome an 8-0 deficit in turnovers.

The first Eagle miscue came on their first drive of the game. Looking to answer Pittsburg opening drive and 7-0 lead, the Eagles moved 60 yards in 6 plays, but a 21-yard completion from Bell to Milton was left laying on the ground at the nine-yard line, and the Pirates fell on it there.

Canton did tie the game on their next possession, 73 yards in 10 plays. Bell rushed five times for 45 yards, while Alex Williams carried twice for 15, including the three-yard touchdown. The point after tied the score at seven with 8:45 left in the first.

The Pirates answered with a 70-yard, 10 play scoring drive to take a permanent lead.

The teams then traded punts before the rash of Eagle turnovers would take them out of the game. Bell fumbled at the end of a scramble giving the Pirates the ball at the 41. Six plays later, Wright took off on a 45-yard, field-reversing sprint for the goal line, and Pittsburg led, 21-7.

The kickoff resulted in a mystery fumble that gave the Pirates the ball at the Eagle 23. Williams returned the kick, and after the stadium thought the play was over, and the offense was coming onto the field, the referees awarded the ball to the Pirates. Four plays later, Hunter Hammontree kicked a 36-yard field goal with 2:27 left.

Canton left too much time on the clock when they punted, leaving the Pirates :30 on the clock, and 57 yards to travel. On second-and-ten from the Eagle 42, Wright shared a dance card with half the Eagle defense as he scrambled around in his own backfield, then found Mark Farmer in the end zone for a touchdown, and a 31-7 half time lead.

The Eagles first possession of the second half was identical their first possession of the game. They drove 75 yards in five plays, the biggest being a screen pass to Alex Williams that he turned into a 45-yard pick up to the five-yard line. On the next play, however, he fumbled into the end zone, and the Pirates picked it up for the touchback.

After a trade of punts, Pittsburg added to the lead by moving 51 yards in seven plays, with Wright finishing form 13 yards out.

The next four Eagle possessions ended in interceptions, as they tried to pass themselves back into the game. Two of those picks came on the first play of the drive, and one of those gave the Pirates possession at the Eagle 18, leading to their final touchdown.

Canton put a scoring drive together on their last possession, culminating in a 21-yard TD reception from Bell to Devon Talley with 19 second left.

The Eagles finish the season with a 7-5 record while Pittsburg will meet Celina in the regional round of the playoffs.