2B Football: Pirates Flog Flock of Seagulls 45-0

ADNA – When your team hangs nearly half a century worth of points on the scoreboard while simultaneously shutting out a familiar foe in a playoff game it can be hard to figure out what exactly to be most pleased with.

After Adna defeated Raymond 45-0 in the 2B District playoffs here on Friday Pirate’s coach KC Johnson knew exactly what he was most excited about.

“I’m happy with making it back to the state playoffs again,” said Johnson, noting that last year was the first time in 11 seasons that the Pirates failed to make it to state after a surreral first round loss at the hands of Raymond in a rainstorm that prematurely ended their season. “It’s just a good feeling to be back in the promised land because that’s where the Pirates belong.”

This year was much different though as the Pirates put the wood to Raymond right away, needing just under four minutes to cover 98 yards for a touchdown on a 40-yard rush by Cole Fay on their opening possession. After trading punts with Raymond for most of the rest of the quarter, Fay took four straight handoffs to place the pigskin at the Seagulls’ 2-yard line as time ran out on the first frame. Then, on the first play of the second quarter Cooper Viggers took an end-around handoff from his wide receiver position to notch the Pirate’s second score of the night.

With a 14-0 lead in hand Adna got serious about dismantling any hopes that Raymond had of making it a close game. On the first play play from scrimmage for Raymond, two Adna defenders crunched the ball carrier, forcing a fumble that Adna recovered at the Seagulls’ 42-yard line. Back on offense Adna dialed up an air raid on their first play and Weed found Brady Collins on a fade for a touchdown. That score gave Adna their second touchdown in less than 30 seconds and a commanding 21-0 lead that was never in jeopardy the rest of the way.

Just over two minutes later Conner Weed again put the ball in the air for a score, this time finding Viggers for a 30-yard touchdown. Then, with time winding down in the half Adna put together a two minute drive that covered 45 yards before calling a timeout with 15 seconds on the clock so Weed could punch a 15-yard field goal through the uprights. That score sent the Pirates to the locker room with a 31-0 lead.

“We saw that they were going to be paying a lot of attention inside so it was nice to get it outside and make them work a little,” explained Weed, who was good on 11 of 12 passes for three touchdowns and 186 yards on the night. Weed, who connected with six receivers in total, gave a nod to the sticky fingers of his receiving crew and the broad shoulders of his offensive line.

“They definitely helped me out there,” said Weed. “It’s really nice knowing they can catch it, and I have a great line up front. They always give me plenty of time.”

Adna scored again late in the third quarter when Weed scrambled around for a bit until he found AJ Johnson in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown toss. The Pirate faithful sounded the scoring horn again with 9:54 left in the game when Cole Fay got loose again for a 15-yard touchdown run. Fay finished with a game-high 101 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

“I was excited because last year they beat us,” said Fay, who seemed to curiously pick up momentum every time a defensive player touched him Friday night, twisting and stiff-arming his way forward like an uneven washing machine on spin cycle.

“My line was freaking phenomenal,” added Fay, who insisted that they have created big holes to run through all year.

Fay was also highly complimentary of Weed’s play at quarterback.

”He was lights out. He made my job easy,” he said.

Johnson also had positive things to say about Weed after the game, pointing out that the game seems to be slowing down for his senior signal caller.

“He’s scrambling with his head up and finding guys and we’re making catches. That helps,” said Johnson.

After being upset by Raymond 16-14 last year, Weed said it felt great to come out and play the part of ungracious host to the Seagulls.

“That means a lot to get that win back,” he said. “We felt like we should have won last year but we kind of killed ourselves,” said Weed.

Johnson echoed that sentiment as he looked forward to the Pirates state matchup versus the top-ranked Kalama Chinooks next week.

“We needed this win big time. The kids needed it for confidence,” said Johnson. “We don’t care if it’s Kalama. Bring them on. We’ll go down there and shock the state.”

Adna (9-1) will travel to face Kalama next week.