Nov. 17—Pisgah soccer is on to the third spherical of playoffs after a powerful efficiency in opposition to West Iredell within the second spherical.
“We did a very, actually good job of simply persevering with to battle,” Pisgah Coach Ricky Brindley mentioned. We had numerous difficulties within the first half on protection. We struggled, however we have been in a position to get stops there on the finish once we wanted to get the soccer again for our offense and have the ability to shut out the sport. I am simply very happy with what our workforce was in a position to do, simply persevering with to be resilient.”
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No. 4-seeded Pisgah by no means trailed in opposition to No. 13 West Iredell, ultimately pulling away for the 41-26 win. Whereas Pisgah ended up with the 15-point victory, the sport was quite a bit nearer all through the evening — staying inside a single rating till late within the third quarter.
The Warriors have been in a position to trim it right down to a one-point sport with time expiring within the third quarter, however the fourth quarter was all Pisgah, because the Bears pulled away with two touchdowns for the win.
A giant a part of the win was the efficiency of senior Hunter Nelson, who performed lights out on either side of the ball. He completed the evening catching all three of senior Matthew Mehaffey’s passes for 65 yards and a rating, dashing for an additional 50 yards and snagging the game-sealing interception late within the fourth.
“I instructed the complete workforce in right here once we have been carried out that was the very best soccer sport I’ve ever seen him play,” Brindley mentioned. “Nevertheless it does not come as a shock, as a result of if there’s one child that we’ve got had that you simply go, ‘That dude’s locked in,’ it is 32. He’s locked into every thing we do. He is every thing you need in a soccer participant. It does not shock me in any respect what he was in a position to accomplish on either side of the ball.”
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The sport felt totally different from numerous Pisgah video games this season. The offense wasn’t grinding the sport to a slog. As an alternative, West Iredell held on to the ball quite a bit and put up numerous factors, turning the sport right into a shootout early on.
“We knew that they have been explosive on offense. We knew that they might rating some factors,” Brindley mentioned. “So, we felt like we needed to be actually good on offense. We would have liked to have the ability to management the ball and put factors on the board once we had it.”
Pisgah bought into the top zone each single time they touched the ball, which proved to be the distinction, because the protection earned two stops.
The protection additionally stopped a pair of two-point conversion makes an attempt early that put the Bears forward of the curve.
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“For us to have the ability to preserve these factors off the board and get to a two-possession sport there within the second half, I believed that was important for us,” Brindley mentioned.
That first cease got here simply earlier than halftime. The Warriors have been driving down the sector, trailing 20-12. West Iredell was set to obtain the kick after halftime, so a rating earlier than the break might have been a large momentum swing in direction of the guests’ sideline.
As an alternative, the Bears’ protection stood tall. The half ended on a throw to the top zone by West Iredell sophomore quarterback Ja’braylan Patterson that seemed as if it had been caught for a rating. Nonetheless, the referee dominated the receiver wasn’t in a position to get a foot in and the groups headed to the locker room.
“That is a credit score to our protection, only for their means to have the ability to bow their neck and get to cease once we needed to,” Brindley mentioned. “That simply comes right down to what we preach with our children, which is about that psychological toughness and simply with the ability to preserve combating and preserve taking part in, and we have been ready to try this and get the cease proper there. I believed that was an enormous momentum swing in our favor.”
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Patterson stored his workforce within the sport late, solely making a few errors in key conditions. He accomplished 21 of 28 passes for 231 yards with one landing and one interception.
The second cease got here within the fourth quarter to shut out the sport. Nelson stepped in entrance of a move from Patterson, choosing it off with about 3 minutes left and the Bears main by eight.
On the Bears’ first play of the following drive, senior Landon Pope took the handoff and went 52 yards to the top zone to ice the sport. The senior completed the evening with fewer touches and yards than he is accustomed to, however left his affect on the evening nonetheless. He completed with 24 rushes for 153 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“Pope is an animal,” Brindley mentioned. “He did not have his typical 250-yard evening, and he did not get as many carries as he sometimes will get, however that is actually a credit score to them and their means to regulate the clock and transfer the sticks, they usually did a very good job of that. We’re a ball-control offense, however tonight they stored it away from us, and we needed to be environment friendly once we had it. It was an ideal evening for him, but it surely was not his typical.”
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Whereas it was a Pope run that closed issues out, he wasn’t the focus of the offense early. On the primary few drives, Nelson and senior Mason Putnam have been the most important focal factors of the Bears’ assault.
“It was enormous for us to get Hunter Nelson concerned. He had some explosive performs. He has been very selfless so far as his means to take possession in his function, and that is to be a violent blocker on the level of assault, however he’s an excellent participant with the ball in his palms,” Brindley mentioned. We have at all times identified it, however we knew what was greatest for our workforce, and he knew what was greatest for our workforce, so he accepted his function and it says quite a bit about how spectacular he’s as a human being.”
Putnam was the workforce’s main rusher till halfway by means of the third quarter. The senior has been a dynamic piece of the offense for the Bears this season, although it has been as a receiver extra typically than a rusher. He completed the evening with six rushes for 97 yards and a landing. That landing was a 53-yarder early within the second half.
“It is enormous to have the ability to have that second man who has the explosive means to take it to the home anytime he touches it,” Brindley mentioned. “It is simply very nice to have anyone that explosive, to have the ability to have as a second possibility with Pope. And I ain’t gonna name him a second possibility. I am gonna say it is 1a and 1b. It is a thunder and lightning mixture.”
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Pisgah now will get set for its second-straight residence sport within the playoffs because the No. 4 Bears host No. 5 Mount Nice, who’re coming off a hard-fought 44-34 win over No. 12 Tuscola.
A win for Pisgah would arrange a possible rematch with No. 1 Brevard within the regional semifinals subsequent week.
“It makes completely no distinction who we’re taking part in. We will have that very same aggressive stamina and consistency in what we do. That is the expectation. I feel the onus falls on our management and our captains. I feel it begins with these guys and what they’re in a position to do so far as rallying the remainder of the workforce.”
