A benchmark win for the Pirates

The first half was full, FULL, of mistakes for the boys in purple. Botched punts, lost fumbles, a safety, penalties. All of these things going against them, yet they were only down by 9 heading into halftime. Trailing 9-0 at halftime of the rainiest day of this fall, the Grantsburg Pirates found a spark. I don’t know what the coaches said or what adjustments they made during that 15 minute period between the second and third quarters, whatever it was it worked. Big. They came out of the halftime locker room seemingly more focused and with more intensity than they showed in the first half.

The second half started with the Pirates stopping Colfax with a nifty three-and-out drive. The Pirates then scored on their first drive. Again, they held the Vikings to a three-and-out. The defense was all over the place. Gavin Meyer was outstanding from his linebacker spot and the interior of the defensive line held their ground wonderfully. The Vikings were not able to move the ball in the second half.

The Pirates did. They scored twenty unanswered points in the second half to win the game 20-9. It was a great come from behind game.

Grantsburg hadn’t won a game since October of 2007. Now they have won two in a row heading into Homecoming week against the Webster Tigers. (The Tigers are undefeated after smoking the Clear Lake Warriors, 31-0 tonight. I couldn’t believe that score when I heard it. )

Since the second half of the Luck game three weeks ago the Pirates have played inspired football (not flawless, obviously, but inspired). They are a fun team to watch and who knows, if they keep improving they might find themselves battling for a playoff spot. Who would have guessed?