Back at Tsongas Center, Pirates get 43-29 win over Jacksonville

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It has been a while since the Massachusetts Pirates (3-5) played a home game at Tsongas Center. On Thursday night, they were back for the first time since April 27 when they lost to Green Bay. Since that game, the Pirates have been on a bit of a tailspin, having lost their last three games. They find themselves near the bottom of the league standings and in need of wins. A bright spot for this team has been their defense, which is 7th in points allowed. Their opponent was the Jacksonville Sharks (6-3), who, coming into this game, were tied for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. For the Sharks, the QB position has been up in the air since starting quarterback Kaleb Barker missed last week’s game with an injury.

Jacksonville won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Pirates began the game with the football. Kenji Bahar was the starting QB for Massachusetts. It would take the Pirates only three plays (two on the ground) to score. A nine-yard TD run by Pooka Williams gave the home team an early 7-0 lead with 12:32 left in the first. Tyler Huff started at QB for the Sharks, and on fourth down from the Pirates’ 5-yard line, Huff would find Marcus Rogers over the middle for a 5-yard TD catch to tie the game at 7-7 with seven minutes left in the quarter. On the Pirates’ next possession, Williams fumbled the football back to the Sharks and was recovered by DB John Higgins deep in Jacksonville territory. The Sharks would convert the turnover into points on a 36-yard FG by Dylan Barnes with a minute left to make it a 10-7 Jacksonville lead. The quarter would come to an end with that score.

The second quarter started with the Pirates having the ball at midfield. Massachusetts took the ball down to the Sharks’ nine-yard line. They capped off the drive with a two-yard TD run by Bahar to make it a 14-10 Pirates lead with 10:45 left in the half. The Pirates’ defense added to the lead by sacking Huff in the end zone for a safety. DB Marquis Waters, on a blitz, sacked the QB to make it a 16-10 lead with 9:24 left in the half. From the Sharks’ four-yard line, Bahar found Isaac Zico in the back of the end zone for a TD catch. The extra point was good. Massachusetts now had a 23-10 lead with 4:17 left in the half.. With 1:13 left in the half, Jacksonville used its second timeout of the half to go for it on fourth down from their own 21. The pass attempt by Huff fell harmlessly to the ground. Massachusetts had a chance to add to its lead with a minute left. Williams gained 13 yards to put the ball at the Sharks’ 7-yard line with 19 seconds left. After a couple of holding penalties pushed them back, Bahar found Zico for his second TD catch of the half. This one down the left sideline. The kick was no good, and the teams left the field with the Pirates up 29-10.

The third quarter saw Jacksonville with the ball first. The drive ended with Huff on a QB keeper run from 14 yards out. The extra point was blocked by Pirates DB Waters, and the score was 29-16 with 9:34 left in the third. The Pirates’ first drive resulted in turning the ball over on downs. The Sharks got the ball back at the Pirates’ 24-yard line. Huff would do it again, this time from 12 yards out for his second rushing TD of the quarter. The kick was good, and now it was a 29-23 Pirates lead with 3:48 left in the third. The quarter ended with the Pirates on the Sharks’ 2-yard line with a fourth down to convert.

That fourth-down call started the final quarter. The Pirates pushed the ball in the end zone with Bahar from a yard out. They went for two and got it as Bahar found Williams in the left corner of the end zone to make it a 37-23 game with 13:48 left in the game. It was now Jacksonville’s turn. A first and goal from the Pirates’ 6-yard line saw the defense come up with a goal-line stand to give the offense the ball back at their own 1-yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Pirates were doing two things: moving the ball downfield and running the clock. Williams would end the drive with a 7-yard TD run to make it a 43-23 lead with 4:18 left. For Williams, it was his second rushing touchdown of the night. Huff would find Rogers for a 35-yard catch and run down the right sideline for a score. The 2-point try was no good, it was now 43-29 with 2:49 to play. The Pirates recovered the onside kick, and it was about running out the clock for a 43-29 win.