The 8-2 Collinsville Pirates got back to their winning ways in their final regular season game, defeating the 6-4 Santo Wildcats 40-13 on Nov. 7.
The Pirates’ air attack accounted for five touchdowns and 388 yards, while their defense forced four fumbles and held Santo to only 12 yards of passing.
Santo got the ball first, starting at their own 13-yard line, and drove the ball 87 yards in 17 plays with fullback Justin Hollingsworth crashing into the end zone from 7 yards out and giving Santo a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
After a failed onside kick attempt by the Wildcats, the Pirates started their first drive of the night at the Santo 45yard line.
Five plays later, Collinsville quarterback Paxton Davidson found receiver Landry Spivey for a 22-yard touchdown pass, tying the score at 7 after a successful extra point kick by Isaiah Smith.
Collinsville’s defense would control the rest of the second quarter, holding Santo to 25 rushing yards, one first down and two fumbles for the rest of the half.
On the other side of the ball, the Pirates’ offense exploded, scoring four more touchdowns and gaining 239 of their 388 yards passing in that second quarter.
Receiver Chad Davidson got the first of the four scores, catching a 64-yard touchdown pass from Paxton.
Then Paxton found running back Trent Stewart for a 21-yard touchdown.
Collinsville’s defense got in on the action on the next touchdown when defensive back Chase Sheppard recovered a Santo fumble and returned it for a 15-yard scoop-andscore.
Chad capped the scoring run, finding the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown toss from Paxton, sending the teams to halftime with Collinsville holding a commanding 34-7 lead. Paxton and Chad would pick up right where they left off in the first half, connecting for their third touchdown of the night early in the third quarter, extending Collinsville’s lead to 40-7.
Hollingsworth would score another rushing touchdown, but Santo continued to struggle offensively in the second half, committing 2 more fumbles and ending the game 40-13.
Paxton finished the night completing 25 of 28 passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns.
Chad led all receivers with three touchdowns and 128 yards receiving on 4 catches, followed by Carter Larance, who had 2 catches for 91 yards.
Collinsville earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and will face the Roscoe Plowboys at 7 p.m. Friday in Graham.
Assistant editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
