Pirates Knock Off No. 6 Knights; Seize Control of District on Homecoming Night

By Kevin Yoder  
Photo credit to Darla Michael

The best way to cap off a great week of Homecoming festivities is to win the Friday  night football game. The Pirates did just that last Friday night with a resounding 27-18 victory,  and in the process, captured sole possession of first place in Class 1A District 4.  

The Union Knights came to town sporting an undefeated record and number six  ranking. With the Pirates winners of two straight, it shaped up to be a battle with high stakes.  Hudson head coach Justin Brekke said his team was ready leading up to kickoff.  

“We had a great week of practice in preparation for our 4th ranked team of the season,  with the goal of pulling off the upset. I told them Thursday this is the best week of homecoming  practices we’ve ever had and it was time to pay it off Friday.”  

The Hudson boys won the toss and took the football, putting their offense on the field  first. It proved to be a good decision as they put together a scoring drive on the opening  possession, culminated by a 10-yard scoring strike from Tade Roberts to Owen Bell.  

The Pirate offense was just getting started, and following a Union punt, Roberts and  Bell connected once again.  

On the second play of the ensuing drive, Roberts found Bell down the seam, and  following a great catch and run, he hit the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.  The Knights bounced back and were able to kick a field goal and put a touchdown of  their own on the board to bring the margin to 14-10. But with time left on the clock, Hudson  lined up one final drive before halftime.  

Through a great combination of run and pass, the Pirates marched down to the Knight  five yard line. Seconds before intermission Roberts rolled right, tucked the football, and  plunged over the goal line. The PAT was unsuccessful but the Pirates took a commanding  20-10 lead to halftime.  

The second half started with the Pirates on defense, and Union on the move. The  visitors put a drive together that saw them inside the Hudson 10. But Hudson’s second half  defense has been stout all season, and just when it looked like the Knights would claw their  way back in the game, the boys in blue dug their heels in. A goal line stand turned the ball over  on downs at the 1-yard line, and put the Pirate offense back in control.  

What followed was an epic 99-yard drive, one where Hudson’s offensive line dominated  their Knight counterparts. Senior Miguel Gomez, with juniors Grady Moseley, Alston Loeb, Jack  Holbach and Rylan Dunbar road-graded their way from one end to the other, opening holes for  quarterback Roberts and running back Gavin Gunnarson. With spot passes to Anderson Yoder  and Payton Bishop to move the chains along the way, the home team found themselves  knocking on the door once again. A second Roberts rushing touchdown from 1-yard out  capped a drive that melted nearly 12 minutes off the game clock, and put the Pirates up 27-10.  

A late Knight score set the final margin, but did nothing to dampen the homecoming  celebration. Roberts ended the night with another 240 yards passing, 93 of which went to  Owen Bell along with two touchdowns. Newly crowned Homecoming King Anderson Yoder  had a record setting night as he hauled in 10 catches for 126 yards, making him just the third  Pirate receiver to hit 1,000 receiving yards for their career.  

The win propels Hudson to the top of the district standings with two games remaining.  Coach Brekke knows how big this game was, but there are more to come.  “Winning this game was absolutely huge in the district standings,” he said. “But nothing  changes in our approach. We will continue to fight to go 1-0 every week and it will take  everyone. This game was won not only by the guys on the field but also won by our scout team  and their effort in practice.”  

The Pirates head back on the road Friday night to Parkersburg to take on the AP  Falcons. Game time is 7 pm.