by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher
Erasing the global pandemic is one thing, recycling a season is another. The Pass Christian Pirates brought their A game with a 41-14 victory over the Purvis Tornadoes Friday night, September 10 at the Francis McDonald Stadium.
After their historic 2019 season with a playoff victory against the Tornadoes, the Pirates were a shell of themselves last season as the whole season was plagued with COVID-19 and injuries.
“We came out in the first half and played really, really well,” said second year Head Football Coach Chase Carmody, who earned the first home win of his career in Pass Christian. “That was the best half we’ve had since I have been here offensively and the defense was shutting them down.”
Pass Christian Quarterback Kameron White displayed the multi-threat excellence that he provided against the Forrest County AHS Aggies last week. White attacked from the ground and scored 5 touchdowns in the first half.
“We didn’t have to read the game much because the left tackle and the offensive line gave us a great push,” said White, who scored all offensive touchdowns in the game. “We had great blocking from passing and running, even though I’ve tried to step it up through the air.”
The Pirates defense, led by Seniors Bryson Adams, Xavian Chamberlain and Aden Purchner kept the Tornadoes outside of midfield with an exception of a turnover from a dropped punt in the first quarter.
The halftime score was 34-6, Pass High lead.
Both defenses stepped up in the second half with time of possession favoring Pass Christian. Purvis could not get anything offensively, as the Tornadoes lost a fumble with 6:13 left in the quarter followed by the Pirates forcing a turnover on downs towards the end of the quarter.
Despite the Pirates moving at a slow pace, Pass took advantage of the tornado mishaps as Defensive End Jayden Acker returned a fumble 55 yards with 8:41 seconds left in the game to increase the lead and secure the game 41-6.
Even though Purvis scored on one more opportunity, the game was essentially locked down.
Pass Christian Kicker Davon Klein converted 5 out of six extra points and missed a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter.
Offensively, the Pirates were led by White who finished with 68 yards on 12 carries with 5 touchdowns on the ground. This gives White 7 touchdowns from the ground this year and he was 8-14 passing with 116 yards through the air. Pass Christian multiple threat back Terry Patton caught 7 passes for 110 yards.
Pass Christian finished with 386 yards of total offense while the defense was led by Adams, Chamberlain, Purchner, and Josh Brown that finished with at least five tackles each. Chamberlain and Adams both had multiple tackles for loss.
Three forced fumbles were recovered by the Pirates with Chamberlain, Makel Herrington, and Acker each getting one. Acker returned his for the score.
The Pirates play next week at the Brother Philip Memorial Stadium against the St. Stanislaus Rockachaws in “The Battle of the Bridge.”
