Pirates Fall To Coffeyville In Hard-Fought Battle
October 20, 2018
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - After two weeks on the road, the Independence Pirates returned home to face arch-rival the Coffeyville Red Ravens in the Montgomery County Showdown. The Pirates battled all the way to the end but came up just short dropping a hard-fought battle to the Red Ravens by a final score of 21-16.
"I always want to win, but tonight I couldn't be any more proud of the way our kids competed," Coach Kiyoshi Harris said. "A few things didn't bounce our way and Coffeyville was able to take advantage.
"In the second half, we came out running the ball more and throwing better to try and open up the offense more and we had plenty of chances to score but just weren't able to make the connections we needed."
"Hats off to our defense as they did a great job keeping us in the game. Unfortunately, we couldn't come out on top and we probably should've run the ball more in certain situations, but we'll get things together and continue to give it our best and try to end this season on a high note."
In the first quarter, the Pirates' defense started strong forcing a three and out and took over at the 48-yard line. Nahshon Bell sacked Chase Hildreth for a three-yard loss.
On third down, Hildreth was intercepted by McArthur Burnett to give the Red Ravens another possession. Coffeyville quarterback Carson Proctor completed a deep pass to receiver Andre Thomas-Cobb to move the chains deep into Independence territory, but the defense held tough again as Jermaine Johnson forced an incompletion.
Coffeyville got a big stop as Hildreth was sacked by Paris Wilson and the Pirates were forced to punt again. The Red Ravens found the end zone after a 32-yard touchdown pass from Proctor to Thomas-Cobb and with 9:05 remaining in the period Coffeyville led 7-0.
Running backs Davijuan Dean and Joshua Thomas battled for first down yardage for Independence and the drive continued as Dean carried it out to the 35-yard line on third down.
Hildreth completed a first down pass to Roy Livingstone but a fumble gave the ball back to the Red Ravens. Coffeyville picked up a first down after a 10-yard rush from Marco Lee to the Pirates' 31-yard line.
The defense forced a fourth down after Proctor's pass fell incomplete due to a hurried attack by Chance main but kept the drive moving as Proctor completed a first down pass to Nicolas Hernandez at the 10-yard line.
The defense would stop the attack on fourth and goal at the two-yard line as Treymon Fullwood came up with a much-needed tackle. Dean continued to run hard bouncing off tackles to the 14-yard line and then picking up four more yards to the 19-yardline but the Pirates were forced to punt as the quarter ended trailing 7-0.
The second quarter began with Coffeyville running the ball well, but on third down Kuony Deng and Tylar Wiltz slammed Lee to the ground forcing a punt. The Pirates threatened deep but were unable to complete a pass forcing another punt from Adam Barry that was fielded at the 43-yard line of the Red Ravens.
Kailon Davis came up with a huge stop and the defense forced another three and out after an incompletion deep down field. A 60-yard punt return from Matthew Wilcox took the ball across midfield to the 35-yard line, but incompletions forced another three and out.
Coffeyville picked up a first down as Proctor found Thomas-Cobb again, but on third down, a swarm of defenders stopped running back Monta Thomas and Independence would take over again.
The Pirates attacked viciously running the ball hard with Dean for a first down, but penalties would cost them as a 40-yard run by Hildreth was negated after a holding call. The Red Ravens took over after a punt and rumbled down to the 21-yard line after a huge rush from Lee.
Following a penalty, Lee found the end zone to score on a 36-yard gallop making the score 14-0 with 2:40 remaining in the first half. On the kickoff, Tyrone Taylor returned the ball 74 yards to the 21-yard line.
Independence failed to convert a first down and settled for a 40-yard field goal from Ryan Redman that sailed through the uprights and with 50 seconds remaining before halftime Coffeyville led 14-3.
The defense held tough as Dequan Gresham tackled Lee behind the line of scrimmage for the final play of the first half and Coffeyville held to a 14-3 lead.
In the third quarter, Taylor returned the opening kickoff 32 yards to the 37-yard line for the Pirates, but the offense went three and out again forcing a punt from Barry to the 15-yard line.
The defense forced a fumble as Proctor went down and it was recovered by Davis in the end zone for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good and the score was 14-9 at the 12:21 mark.
The Red Ravens picked up a first down as Lee found room enough for a 10-yard rush, but a bad snap got past Proctor and was recovered by Davis at the 23-yard line. Independence converted a fourth down as Hildreth found Markiese King at the 11-yard line and scored the next play on an 11-yard rush from Thomas and with Redman's extra point good the Pirates led 16-14 with 9:04 left in the period.
The defense attacked again on the first play as Johnson sacked Proctor for a nine-yard loss and the Red Ravens were forced to punt again after an incompletion on third, but a fumble on the return was recovered by Coffeyville at the 24-yard line.
The defense forced a field goal by Nathan Mahlock that was no good as it hit the upright and Independence took over at the 20-yard line. A 41-yard completion from Hildreth to Livingstone brought the Pirates across midfield to the 39-yard line and after an interference call Independence had another huge first down.
Independence continued rolling as Dean ran the ball down to the nine-yard line but settled for a field goal that was blocked and rolled all the way back to the 49-yard line. Coffeyville ended the quarter with an eight-yard run by Deshawn Massey, but the Pirates held to a 16-14 lead.
The fourth quarter began with another run by Massey for a first down and another run for the speedy back to the 21-yard line. Massey carried the ball down to the one-yard line and scored two plays later and with the extra point the Red Ravens regained the lead 21-16 with 12:00 remaining in the game.
The Pirates were unable to make anything happen on the possession and punted the ball away but a fumble recovery by Gresham put the ball back in the hands of the offense. Independence rumbled across midfield to the 43-yard line after an eight-yard rush from Thomas but were stopped for a loss forcing another punt from Barry that was fielded at the 16-yard line.
Massey was dropped by Kelle Sanders for a two-yard loss and the defense stopped Coffeyville to force a punt to the 22-yard line. The Pirates found a first down as Hildreth completed a 10-yard pass to Livingstone and another to King at midfield, but the next play took a turn for the worst as Hildreth was intercepted at the 30-yard line.
The defense forced another three and out forcing the Red Ravens to punt and Independence took over at the eight-yard line. Hildreth found Livingstone for a 28-yard reception at the 33-yard line to move the chains, but an interception gave the ball back to the Red Ravens and as the clock expired the Pirates dropped the contest in heartbreaking fashion.
Independence returns to Shulthis Stadium next week to battle the Iowa Central Tritons with kickoff set for 9 pm.