SINTON, Texas — A back and forth contest in the first half between Sinton and Alice became irrelevant when the Sinton Pirates (3-0) pulled away in the second half. Pirates won the KRIS 6 News Game of the Week 42-12.
Alice (1-2) started the game on a bad first step. The offense moved the ball well into Sinton territory, but Lucian Cruz was intercepted by Jacoby James.
Sinton's drive looked to stall when Alice forced a fourth down, but the fake punt was run to perfection. Derek Garcia sprinted down the field to the Alice 20 yard line. Senior quarterback Triston Handson executed is specialty, a QB sneak inside the five yard line to put the Pirates on the board. The two point conversion failed.
Alice couldn't immediately respond, so they played the field position game, pinning the pirates at their own five yard line. A few plays later the Coyotes recovered a fumble in a great position.
Alice looked like they were going to face fourth down, but a late hit on Lucian Cruz running out of bounds set the Coyotes up for first and goal and they'd score easily. A bad snap on the extra point, tied the game up at six.
Into second quarter, Sinton was able to move the ball again with ease until they got near the Alice end zone. But on third and two to go, an Alice player stepped over a Sinton player on the ground and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That gave Handson the chance to run one in again, but as he dove for the end zone the ball was punched out. Alice recovered in the end zone.
Coyotes drove 80 yards for Cruz to punch it in and go up 12-6. Another bad snap prevented Alice from getting the extra point try off the ground.
That left Sinton with 58 seconds left to go before the half. The Pirates returned the kick-off for a touchdown, but it was called back on a face mask call. What seemed to be a conservative call would pay off. A hand-off to Garcia took The Pirates into a scoring position on a 52 yard carry. He was rewarded with two touchdowns in the second half.
Handson got the chance to take to the air. His receiver, Andrew Silva, got past the secondary and had an easy 30 yard catch to tie the game at 12.
Trying to right the ship, Pirates opted to go for two, but were pushed back by a delay of game. They were determined and tried anyway. Handson took the snap looked left and rifled to the end zone for Sean Hughes. He got his hands up as he stumbled. The ball deflected off his hand, he spins around, finds the ball in the air, dives and catches it for the conversion.
Sinton went to the break up 14-12 and never looked back.
Out of the break, the Pirates picked up where they left off. Garcia scored from 43 yards out to make it 21-12.
The Pirate defense stifled Alice, forcing another interception to start the fourth quarter.
Touchdowns by Garcia, Jacoby James and Mykah Green sealed the victory.
Sinton's schedule has tests for them the rest of the way. The Pirates head to Gregory-Portland in week four before a high profile matchup with Corpus Christi Miller.
Alice has spent the week dealing with an off-field issue that could still impact the football team. 80 students were cited for having alcohol at a party on Sept. 7. Head coach and athletic director J.R. Castellano issued a letter to his athletes asking them to come forward as being present at the party, before punishments become harsher.
In the mean time, Alice will look for a win at home against La Joya in week 4.
For more Friday Night Fever updates, click here, or follow our Facebook page.
