Pirates Fall Hard To Iowa Western
October 13, 2018
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Independence Pirates traveled out of conference to take on the #3 Iowa Western Reivers in an early afternoon game. The Pirates played well for most of the afternoon, but a second half stumble heavily influenced by penalties saw Independence drop the contest, 44-21.
In the first quarter, the Reivers received the opening kickoff and rumbled into Pirate territory on a reverse run by receiver Michael Zachary. Iowa Western picked up another first down on a completion from TJ Starks to Nick Singleton to keep the drive alive but on fourth down, a swarm of defenders stopped Gayflor Flomo at the 18-yard line.
The Pirates took over and a pass to Markiese King followed by a run from Chase Hildreth who later completed a pass to Bryson Cannon had Independence moving down the field. Davijuan Dean picked up seven yards on a run and a pass to Matthew Wilcox took the Independence Pirates across midfield.
Dean ran the ball down to the 14-yard line and a penalty moved the Pirates closer to the five-yard line. Two plays later Dean scored from three yards and with the extra point from Ryan Redman, Independence took a 7-0 lead with 6:51 remaining in the opening period.
Iowa Western ran the first play with Starks but Kuony Deng shut down the run after a gain of two yards. On third down, Independence held strong as Dishon McNary knocked the ball away from the receiver and the Reivers were forced to punt the ball away.
For the Pirates, Hildreth completed a first down pass to Dean but two plays later, was intercepted by Willie O'Hara to give the ball back to the Reivers. Starks completed a pass to Zachary and ran it himself inside the ten-yard line.
Starks was sacked making it third and six by Kelvin Johnson and the defense forced a field goal which sailed through from 22-yards from Hunter Pinegar with 2:16 remaining in the period and the Pirates lead was now 7-3.
The following kickoff sailed out of bounds to give Independence great position at the 35-yard line. Iowa Western shut down the attack and the Pirates would bring out Adam Barry for his first punt of the day that was returned short having the Reivers begin the drive at the 40-yard line.
Following the punt, Iowa Western was moving the ball quite well with a completion to Zachary but would let the clock run out in the quarter with Independence leading 7-3.
The second quarter began with a fumble from Starks which Iowa Western recovered and on fourth down Starks found Zachary for a 33-yard strike to score, but with the extra point no good the Reivers led 9-7 with 14:19 left in the first half.
The Pirates went back and forth with penalties from both teams and were stopped short on a run by Otumos Payemanu, but a 15-yard facemask penalty kept the drive alive. Penalties continued and despite great runs by Payemanu Independence was forced to punt the ball again.
Following a penalty Starks found Zachary for a huge 42-yard reception and after a late hit penalty, the Reivers were at the 24-yard line knocking on the door. The next play, Milton Sargbah found the end zone from 24 yards away and with 9:03 left in the first half, Iowa Western extended the lead to 16-7.
A kick return from Marqwell Odom had the Pirates begin the drive at the 28-yard line. Completions to King and Odom kept the ball moving, but a pass to Wilcox came up just short forcing a three and out.
The defense was holding strong and on third down a deep pass from Starks was knocked away by Dontye Carriere-Williams forcing a punt that went out of bounds at the Pirates' 42-yard line after good pressure was delivered.
On third down Hildreth, found King for a 53-yard reception and two plays later Dean scored from three yards out. Redman's extra point was good and with 4:30 left in the first half the Reivers' lead was cut to 16-14.
Starks found Singleton deep, but a fumble forced by Juawan Treadwell was recovered by Antonio Wallace to give Independence another possession. The Pirates moved the ball, but on fourth down a pass fell incomplete forcing a turnover.
The defense held strong with a hit by Treymon Fullwood to force an incompletion and on the next play Wallace intercepted Starks giving the Independence new life. The Pirates moved the ball again but were unable to pick up a first down leading to another punt.
Iowa Western was unable to get anything going as a sack from Kailon Davis ran out the first half with the Reivers leading 16-14.
In the third quarter, Independence began with Hildreth completing a first down pass to Dontrell Johnson followed a big run from Dean for a gain of six yards, but the Reivers' defense held up forcing another three and out.
Iowa Western opened with a penalty but was able to move the chains with a completion to Zachary followed by a run from Sargbah and on an end around play Zachary found the end zone and extended the lead to 23-14 with 11:00 remaining in the quarter.
The Pirates with a rush and a shuttle pass to Dean to move the ball to their own 45-yard line, but once again the Reivers forced a punt that was run back 56 yards by Zachary at the 14-yard line. A penalty moved the spot to the six yard-line.
The Pirates forced a field goal that was no good, but a penalty gave Iowa Western new life and Starks found a four-yard run to score with 6:03 remaining to push the lead to 30-14. The following drive saw nothing go the Pirates' way on a three and out.
Starks' pass was tipped back in bounds by McNary to Wallace for an interception giving Independence another possession. Dean continued to roll picking up two first downs and penalties pushed the Pirates further down the field, but on fourth down failed to convert first down yardage.
The Reivers got past midfield as the quarter ended and Independence continued to trail 30-14 going into the game's final minutes.
The fourth quarter saw Independence's defense attack well, but a measurement would not go the Pirates' way giving Iowa Western another first down and with 11:26 left to play Starks found Zachary for a 15-yard score making it a 37-14 lead for the Reivers.
Independence went three and out forcing a punt that was returned 37 yards by Zachary. Iowa Western found the endzone with backup quarterback Clay Bethard finding Jason Harrison from seven yards out and the score went up with the Pirates now trailing 44-14 with 10:03 left to play.
Barry returned to the field to punt again after another three and out. The Reivers would also go three and out as the possession went back to Independence. Penalties against Iowa Western moved the chains for the Pirates and on third down Hildreth found Raekwon Heath for a 33-yard score and with the extra point sailing through Independence cut into the lead now trailing 44-21 with 6:31 left to play.
The Pirates' defense forced a three and out and took over on offense. A huge pass to Johnson took Independence across midfield and a pass to Heath continued the progression.
A pass to Roy Livingstone took the Pirates inside the 20-yard line, but on fourth down an incomplete pass ended the late threat. Bethard took a knee on consecutive snaps and with the conclusion of the contest, Independence dropped the contest.
The Pirates (1-5) return home next week to Shulthis Stadium to face off against county rival, the Coffeyville Red Ravens for a 7:00 pm kickoff.