Pirates Fall To Falcons In Game Of District Unbeatens

By Kevin Yoder

Friday night the third-ranked and resurgent Aplington-Parkersburg Falcons brought their undefeated record to Hudson, in a game that would decide the Class 1A District 4 championship. They left with a 37-0 victory and that distinction in hand.

The Pirates made some plays early, and even took the opening drive of the game into the red zone. Junior Maddox Krizek was back from injury and made the key play on that drive. Quarterback Tade Roberts completed a pass to him over the middle that had the offense in a good position early. Unfortunately that drive ended without points, and it only took two plays for AP to counter. A long touchdown run put Hudson in a 7-0 hole, and set the pattern for how the game would go for the home team.

Another Falcon offensive score, followed closely by a defensive safety made the deficit 16-0. But Hudson’s next drive saw the Roberts to Krizek connection again get the ball inside the ten yard line, setting them up with a first and goal. An interception in the end zone on fourth down stymied the Pirates’ best scoring chance of the night. Another pair of Falcon scores just before the half made the score 30-0 heading to the locker room.

The Pirates tightened up the defense a bit in the second half and were only outscored 7-0, but the damage was done. On the night Roberts finished a respectable 14 of 20 through the air for 188 yards. Krizek was the biggest beneficiary with 106 of those yards on six catches. Owen Bell and Payton Bishop each caught three passes, while Gavin Gunnarson and Austin Kliegl caught one apiece.

Defensively, Bell led the team with seven tackles, while Gunnarson, McCoy Yoder and Grady Moseley each had a tackle for loss on the night.

The Pirates will turn the page quickly and look to bounce back next week with their final regular season home game against the Jesup J-Hawks. A win locks up a second place finish in the district, and guarantees the boys a first round home playoff game the following Friday. Game time is set for 7 pm.