Flying high: Pirates pummel Panthers for first win of the season

Matanzas players raised the Jolly Roger after defeating Pine Ridge 35-7.

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The Matanzas High School football team raised the Jolly Roger for the first time this season.

The Pirates raise the flag after their victories. After playing a brutal schedule over their first four games, they earned their first win of the season on Friday, Sept. 25, defeating Pine Ridge 35-7. The Panthers fell to 0-5.

Matanzas came into the game ranked 12th in Region 1-5A by MaxPreps, just four slots away from a playoff berth, despite not having a win.

“We practiced hard all week, and we just wanted to get a win,” said running back DJ Harris, who rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries, including a 26-yard touchdown run.

Quarterback Michael McDonough passed for 158 yards with three touchdowns in his second varsity start. Wiley Conner caught two touchdown passes and totaled 146 yards rushing and receiving in three quarters of action. And freshman CJ Perkins ran for a touchdown and finished with 79 total yards of offense.

The Pirates’ defense shut the Panthers down, allowing only a 27-yard third-quarter touchdown pass on a drive that started on a short field.


I don’t think we can be better prepared than we were tonight. This is one of those games we needed.
— JEZ MCCOY,Matanzas defensive back

“I don’t think we can be better prepared than we were tonight,” senior defensive back Jez McCoy said. “This is one of those games we needed.”

The focus in practice leading up to the game was on the details and not adding anything new, Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said.  

“We played a really tough schedule, and it shows that in the rankings,” Forrest said. “We went back to fundamentals and details. We reiterated that our one team rule is just do the right thing and WIN, which is an acronym for “What's Important Now.”

For the first time this season the Pirates did not turn the ball over. Through their first four games they had a minus-7 turnover margin.

“I’m proud of our players for just focusing on the little details,” Forrest said. “We didn't muff any kicks or punts. We made plays on defense and wrapped up and didn't allow them to break tackles.”

McDonough’s three touchdown passes were all on screens with receivers gaining most of the yards after the catch, starting with Brennon Friendly’s 25-yard catch-and-run to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead on their first possession.

Conner turned two screen passes into touchdowns in the second quarter, slicing through the defense for a 34-yard touchdown reception with 7:29 left in the quarter and adding a 16-yard touchdown catch just before halftime.

Conner ran for 86 yards on eight carries and caught four passes for 60 yards.

“It was a good night overall. We played well, I think,” said McDonough, a junior who transferred from Seabreeze in the summer. “The screens were working. The receivers’ blocking was good.”

McDonough said he felt more comfortable in his second start.

“But I’ve been playing football since I was in second grade, so it’s not like I’m brand new,” he said.

McDonough earned his first start after going 5-for-5 with 51 yards passing and a late touchdown in a 42-13 loss at Ocala Forest on Sept. 11. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards with an interception on Sept. 18 in a 20-15 loss to Menendez. Forrest said the Pirates didn’t add any new wrinkles for McDonough in this game. They just tried to improve their execution.

For the second week in a row, the Pirates rushed for over 200 yards.

Matanzas will try to win its second game in a row when it hosts Deltona (2-3) in a makeup game on Thursday, Oct. 1. The game was postponed because of lightning on Sept. 4.

At the time of the postponement the Wolves were 2-0 with wins over Pine Ridge and University. They allowed a total of three points in the two wins. Since then they’ve given up 132 points in losses to DeLand, Spruce Creek and Bishop Moore, all teams ranked among the top 20 in their classifications, with DeLand ranked second in Class 6A. 

“It feels like we’re finally taking a step in the right direction and we’re about to turn the season around,” McCoy said.

 

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