GRANTS, N.M. - The Pirates, well rested after their bye week, traveled the scenic “low road” following the Rio Grande River up the canyon to Taos to take on the Tigers last Friday.
The Tigers (3-4, 3-1) were ready to take on the Pirates and give the third ranked Pirates a game.
The first quarter “They did exactly what we knew they were going to do,” said GHS head coach Steve Brown of that first quarter against Taos. “We were a little sluggish on both sides of the ball and were still able to put up 12 points and have the lead going into the second quarter.”
“Tristin Fernandez suffered a knee injury and DJ Chavez had to replace him,” said Brown of his quarterback’s unfortunate injury.
“DJ was then also out of the game due to two unsportsmanlike penalties leaving us in a situation– we had to go to Isaiah Ortega for the QB position–which we were absolutely not prepared for.”
Brown praised Ortega for an “outstanding job running the offense” and credited Ortega with running an offense that allowed the Pirates to “battle back” to make a very close game at the end.
The Pirates went up 12-6 in the first quarter and in the second quarter Taos gained the upper hand and scored two touchdowns and two PAT’s for 14 points while they held the Pirates scoreless.
In the third quarter Grants mustered eight points while the revitalized defense held Taos scoreless. Nonetheless the Pirates came up two points short.
Next up for the Pirates will be Moriarity in another tough district battle.
“In preparing for Moriarity we are literally looking for someone to step at the QB position because our third string QB, Tyler Jackson, is also out with an ankle injury and won't be back until next week,” said Brown. “Our kids are hungry to get back on the field and get back in the win column– it certainly won’t be easy.”
Brown added that his defense has to stop Moriarity to give the offense as many chances as possible to score some points. “We will be ready,” said Brown.
The Pirates. The Pirates will travel to Moriarity (3-3,2-2) this Friday–game time is 6:00pm.