Pirates’ season ends at Sylvania

By Derek Trimm
Winfield Correspondent
SYLVANIA — The Winfield Pirates’ season came to end with a 35-10 loss to the Sylvania Rams on Friday, Nov. 17 in Sylvania.
The Pirates offense got off to a slow start and the Rams scored on its first two possessions and never looked back.
Winfield cut the lead to 21-10 to begin the fourth quarter, but that was as close as it would get, as the Rams added two more scores late, and their ball control offense put the game away.
The Pirates gained 245 total yards, with 174 passing and 71 rushing yards.
Quarterback Brady May completed 13-of-19 passes for 174 yards.
Keylan Hughes led the rushing  attack with 47 yards on 14 carries. Declyn Morgan ran six times for 37 yards, and D’Angelo Bankhead ran once for 22 yards and a touchdown.
Sean Wyers led the receivers with four catches for 67 yards. Bankhead caught four passes for 37, and Hughes grabbed a reception for 32 yards. Preston Nelson caught two passes for 21 yards, and Blake Ballard caught two for 18.
The Rams revived the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards on seven plays and finished the drive with a 32 yard pass completion and with the extra point took a 7-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first quarter.
After the Pirates turned the ball over on downs, the Rams picked up where they left off on the previous drive and scored on the first play on a 56-yard touchdown run. The extra point put the Rams ahead 14-0 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
Winfield was able to get its offense rolling on its second possession of the night.
The Pirates drove 51 yards on the drive with May completing some timely passes to move the ball down to the Rams’ 9-yard line before the drive stalled, and the Pirates were forced to kick a field goal.
Jacob Barnes booted the 24-yard field goal through the uprights to cut the Rams’ lead to 14-3 with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.
Sylvania added one more score before halftime scoring on an 11-yard touchdown pass to push lead to 21-3 at the half.
Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter, but Winfield was in position to put points on the board.
Winfield was facing a second-and-2 at the Rams’ 22-yard line, when Bankhead took a handoff on a reverse and raced around the Sylvania defense for the 22- yard touchdown run.