By Janiya Lapat and Kyle Botermans

October 16, 2015

As the old cliché states: looks can be deceiving. The Phoenix Pirates took this into account when preparing for one of their primary conference rivals: North Valley. Despite owning a 0-4 record heading into the match-up, the Knights are clearly a better team than their record reflects. They battled hard, but in the end, the Pirates asserted their dominance with a strong second half.

On their first drive, the Knights managed to get an early lead on a long touchdown run, but their lead was quickly erased when Justin Knight took back the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. With the Knights failing to convert the extra point and the Pirates succeeding, North Valley’s only lead of the night was cut short at no more than fifteen seconds. Although the Pirates couldn’t establish a commanding lead before halftime, they finished the second quarter with a 14-6 lead.

The Pirate ground attack stole the show prolifically in the second half by adding three more touchdowns to the scoreboard. North Valley did get a touchdown strike over the middle of the field in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the game had already been won. In addition to two rushing touchdowns (1 kick return TD as well) by Justin Knight and another by Zach Atteberry, the Phoenix offense finally picked up their first passing touchdown on the year with a pass from sophomore Dylan Knudson to senior Jessi Daniels. The score ended with our boys earning the victory and an impressive 2-0 start to conference.

However, the following week would bring the Pirate’s first true test in conference. The underappreciated Henley Hornets made the trip down the mountain from Klamath Falls to the valley for the Pirates’ homecoming showdown on the 9th. In preseason polls, the Hornets were predicted to place second in conference, but they couldn’t manage to dethrone Mazama and once again failed to slow down the potent Phoenix offense.

The Hornets were able to hit a couple of big plays and capitalize on a few turnovers, but the Pirates persevered. By utilizing key defensive stands and an increasingly dangerous running game, the Pirates overcame injuries to two of their vital components to the team’s success. Running back Zach Atteberry and starting quarterback Dylan Knudson went down with injuries forcing the Pirates to rely even more on senior running back Knight. Once again, the competitor emerged in the running back as he carried the team in the second half on offense. He finished the night with over 200 yards rushing and three scores.

This 28-19 win sets up a match-up to end the year, much like last year, against the Mazama Vikings for 1st in the conference. First, the Pirates will travel to Klamath Union to take on the Pelicans in an attempt to maintain their undefeated conference record. With Trace Vega returning from an injury and Gerardo Sanchez ready to go, the Pirates are in perfect position to set up the game they’ve been looking forward to all year: the match-up against Mazama for redemption.