The Collinsville Pirates went on the road to face the Callisburg Wildcats and were run over, with the Wildcats taking the win 41-27 on Sept. 12.
Four different Wildcat ball carriers posted double- digit yardage totals, and two of them crossed the century mark in rushing yards, handing the Pirates their first loss of the season.
Garrett Patterson, Collinsville athletic director and head football coach, used a bit of trickery to start the night off with a bang for the Pirates.
On the second play of the Collinsville’s opening drive, slot receiver Caysen Schafer took a handoff in the backfield and threw a pass to Chad Davidson that turned into a 55-yard touchdown, putting the Pirates up 7-0 after a successful extra point kick.
Callisburg lost a fumble on their first offensive possession but blocked the punt on Collinsville’s next possession, giving them the ball on the Pirate’s 19-yard line.
Four plays later, the Wildcats scored on a 7-yard pass from Bowen McAdams to Gabriel Zinski, tying the score at 7 apiece.
The Pirates responded with a three-play, 70-yard drive, capped with a 22yard touchdown catch by Schafer, putting Collinsville back up by a score at the end of the first quarter.
The tide of the game turned after that, with Callisburg scoring four unanswered touchdowns over the next two quarters: two in the second quarter by running back Teagan Barnett and two in the third quarter— one by Barnett and a 67-yarder by Zinski.
The Wildcats’ “ground and pound” offense churned out 197 yards in the second and third quarters en route to a 306-yard rushing performance.
Collinsville refused to give up, scoring two touchdowns late in the third and early in the fourth quarter—a 9-yard touchdown reception by receiver Chad Davidson and a short touchdown run from quarterback Paxton Davidson—cutting Callisburg’s lead to 34-27.
The Wildcats continued to run the ball and put the final nail in the coffin with a score late in the fourth quarter from fullback Braddock McKnight, securing the Callisburg 41-27 win.
Zinski led the Wildcats with 112 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, followed by Barnett, who finished with 100 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns.
The Pirates were led by Paxton, who threw for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 99 yards and a score, followed by Chad, who totaled 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Collinsville returns home to Pirate Stadium for the first time in two weeks to face another tough rushing attack from the Wolfe City Wolves at 7 p.m. Friday.
Assistant editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
Jenna Howard/The Post-Signal
