Pirates bounced from playoffs by Wellpinit, 26-22

WELLPINIT–A hard-to-defend passing attack netted four touchdowns for the Wellpinit Redskins as they slipped by the Pomeroy Pirates by a slim–by eight-man football standards–26-22 in 1B 8-Man football playoff action here Saturday, November 12.

Wellpinit's Smokey Abrahamson connected with Colin Hughes two times for a 12-0 lead in the first quarter and added passing touchdowns in the second and third quarters.

Pomeroy's Trevin Kimble scored first- and fourth-quarter touchdowns, the latter narrowing the difference to four points before the Pirate rally ran out of time. Sidney Bales galloped 42 yards for a third-quarter score that pulled the Pirates to within six points.

"Wellpinit jumped out to a 20-6 halftime lead and had the Pirates on the ropes," said Head Coach Kyle Kimble said after the season-ending loss. "Our defense had a rough one early but rallied and caused some turnovers to get us back in the game."

Pomeroy's season ended with an 8-3 record. Wellpinit travels to second-seeded Forks in further playoff action.

The Pirates were trailing by four points and had the ball for a final, go-ahead drive in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. At midfield, the Redskins picked a Pomeroy pass, squelching the drive, then burned the final time off the clock.

Kimble paced the Pirates with 219 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns. He completed four of 12 passes for 68 yards with one interception.

Ollie Severs made one catch for 52 yards.

Wellpinit spent a lot of time on defense as the Pirates had the ball 28:40 compared to the Redskins' 19:20. Six Redskins had more than five solo tackles: Kaden McCrea had seven solo and three assists; Colin Hughes had six solo and six assists, Carter Hughes made six solo and two assists with Jeff Moyer with three solo, Andy Moyer three solo and Eli Leyva and Adam Moyer with two solo tackles apiece.

Bales counted seven solo tackles with Walker Flynn notching four solo and five assists. Trevin Kimble tackled five alone, and Herres and Severs each had four solo tackles. Jett Slusser counted three solo and David Tejero had one.

The Abrahamson-to-Hughes connection was the ticket for Wellpinit and it struck twice in the first quarter, giving the Redskins a 12-0 lead over the Buccaneers. Abrahamson hit Hughes with a 30-yard touchdown strike at 10:45 in the first period, and again with a 15-yard scoring pass with 1:30 remaining.

Both teams grappled through the remainder of the first and most of the second quarter, then Trevin Kimble led the Pirates for a successful series, punching in from the one yard line with 4:41 on the first-half clock. Bales's PAT run was stopped.

On Wellpinit's next possession, Abrahamson again hit Hughes for six and a 20-6 lead going into halftime.

Pomeroy's adjustments paid dividends when, late in the third quarter, Bales broke away for a 42-yard touchdown scamper, then put in the two-point conversion to make it a six-point ballgame, 20-14.

But Wellpinit wasn't finished and tacked on their fourth score seconds before the end of the third quarter, Hughes catching a 17-yard touchdown pass. The Pirates stopped the PAT run and had the entire fourth quarter to make up the difference.

The battle raged through the first six minutes of the fourth, finally paying off when Kimble finished a Pirate drive with a four-yard scoring run. His two-point conversion was also good and with 6:25 remaining in the game, the Pirates had time for a defensive stop and offensive drive for the win, trailing by only four points.

The Pirates defense held and the offense was moving when Wellpinit intercepted to preserve the win.

Wellpinit 26, Pomeroy 22 (11-12)

Pom 0 6 8 8-22

Well 12 8 6 0-26

Well-Hughes 30 yd pass from Abrahamson. Run failed.

Well-Hughes 15 yd pass from Abrahamson. Kick failed.

Pom-Kimble 1 yd run. Run failed.

Well-Hughes 30 yd pass from Abrahamson. Moyer run.

Pom-Bales 42 yd run. Bales run.

Well-Hughes 17 yd pass from Abrahamson. Run failed.

Pom-Kimble 4 yd run. Kimble run.

Pom Well

Total Offense 389 317

Rush 328 66

Pass 61 251

Rushing: Pomeroy-Kimble 35/219, 2 TDs; Bales 16/124 yds, 1 TD; Herres 1/8 yds; Flynn 5/1. Wellpinit: Moyer 20/26 yds; Abrahamson 9/24 yds; C. Hughes 3/18 yds; A. Moyer 1/-2 yds.

Passing: Pomeroy-Kimble 4/23-68 yds, 1 Int .; Bales 2/7, -2 yds, 2 Int. Wellpinit: Abrahamson 12/24-251 yds, 4 TDs, 1 Int.

Receiving: Pomeroy-Severs, 1/52 yds; Bales-4/7 yds; Kimble 1/2 yds. Wellpinit-C. Hughes 8-223 yds, 4 TD; J. Moyer 2/30 yds; Denison 1/1 yds; Moyer 1/-3 yds.

Turnovers (Fumbles/Lost)

4-3 5-5

Interceptions Thrown

3 1

Penalties/Yards

5/25 1/5