by Hunter Dawkins
Luck was not on the side of the Pass Christian Pirates in Friday district game, as they were shutout 15-0 by the Moss Point Tigers at McDonald Stadium in the Pass. Defensively, the Pirates (1-7, 0-3) kept pace with the Tigers, forcing five turnovers and only allowing one Moss Point touchdown for the first three quarters.
“Defense played fantastic,” said Pass Christian Head Football Coach Casey Wittmann. “They kept us in the game.”
Moss Point Tigers senior running back Tytus Miles accounted for just shy of 100 yards with over 20 carries and a five-yard touchdown run in the first.
The Tigers opened the game with the ball, as the Pirates winning the toss deferred to the second half. Moss Point accounted for a ten-play drive with Miles running off tackle from five yards out. Tigers kicker Dreyden Russell drilled his only extra point through the uprights after 7:18 left in the first quarter with the early lead 7-0 Moss Point.
Pass Christian went three-and-out with Pirates quarterback Dustin Allison tossing two incompletions after only gaining a yard on first down.
The Tigers put together another lengthy nine-play drive, but were stalled by the Pirates stingy defense with a fumble that was recovered by the Pirates near midfield with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
Pass Christian followed with an unimpressive offensive series, where Allison was viciously hit and taken out of the game due to concussion protocol.
“This matter is at the trainer’s discretion and we will find out soon,” said Wittmann. The Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) has come down on football players being alowed to play with multiple concussions in a year, as Allison had one earlier in the year against Perry Central.
Despite the Pirates holding the Tigers on a 15-play series and causing a turnover on downs with 1:03 left in the half, the rhythm was off. Pass Christian fumbled on their own 28-yard line with 14.3 seconds left, but Moss Point quickly ended the half without anything else as Pirates defensive back Andrew Moffatt intercepted the ball in the end zone with 4.7 seconds left. The halftime score was 7-0 Moss Point lead.
Beginning the second half was much like the first, even with the switch of Austin Scanlan as the Pirates quarterback.
In a turn of events, Moss Point went three-and-out on their possession. With 6:58 left in the third quarter, the Tigers fumbled a high snap on the punt and the Pass Christian Pirates took possession on the 1-yard line. Despite being granted a top notch spot in the red zone, the Pirates failed to score and fumbled the ball back to the Tigers with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers drove the ball back to decent field position before punting and the Pirates lost their luck again, star punt returner Damonta May fumbled the ball on the kick with 1:18 left in the third quarter. Moss Point took five plays but turned the ball over on downs.
Finally, the Pirates put together a meaningful drive, consisting of ten-plays back to midfield, before they were forced to punt. Pass High fumbled the punt with 6:01 left and the rest was history for this game.
Six plays and Moss Point scored one more, when wildcat quarterback Keandre Booker optioned in from one-yard out for the final touchdown. After Booker ran in a two-point conversion with under four minutes left, the final score was 15-0.
Pass Christian will host it’s final home game and senior night against Vancleave next week at 7pm.
(Photos by Rickey Lewis)
