Pirates shut out Oakman to clinch two seed in playoffs

By Derek Trimm
Winfield correspondent
OAKMAN — Winfield’s defense held the Oakman Wildcats to just 58 total yards and the offense pounded the Wildcats for a 42-0 region victory on Friday, Oct. 27, in Oakman.
With the win, Winfield improved to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in Class 3A, Region 5 play. The win also clinched the second seed in Region 5 for the Pirates and a home first-round playoff game.
Oakman’s potent rushing attack was no match for Winfield’s stout defense as the Pirates stuffed the running attack for 17 yards and forced Oakman into passing the ball and found little success only picking up 75 yards through the air.
The Pirates’ offense saw four players score rushing touchdowns and rack up 219 yards rushing to go with 159 passing yards to total 378 yards for the game.
Keylan Hughes led the Pirates’ rushing attack with 117 yards on 11 carries, and he had one touchdown.
Declyn Morgan ran 13 times for 53 yards and a score. Braxton Tilley ran seven times for 40 yards, and Brady May ran six times for 17 yards and a touchdown. Jamykal Hackman ran once for 12 yards and Blaine Bowen ran once for 10 yards.
May completed 11-of-12 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
D’Angelo Bankhead led the receivers with seven receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Preston Nelson caught one pass for 11 yards, and Hughes had one reception for 7 yards. Morgan had a catch for 4 yards and Kruz Box caught one pass for 2 yards.
Both teams struggled offensively through most of the first quarter, but with 1:43 left in the first stanza, Winfield got things rolling as Hughes found some running room around the left side of the offensive line and raced for an 18-yard touchdown.
Jacob Barnes added the extra point to put the Pirates on top at 7-0 with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
After the Pirates’ defense stifled the Wildcats’ offense, Winfield took over at its own 9-yard line.
Winfield needed only seven plays to cover the 91 yards as Morgan and Hughes carried the load in the drive. Later in the drive, Hughes broke a long 55-yard run to move the Pirates to the Wildcats’ 4-yard line. Morgan finished off the drive, on the next play with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Barnes’ extra point was good, and the Pirates’ lead stretched to 14-0 with 6:49 left in the second quarter.
Winfield added one more score before the half as Bankhead cashed in a 27-yard screen pass for a touchdown to finish a 10-play, 78-yard drive. Barnes added the extra point to push the lead to 21-0 with 1:26 left in the first half.