PORTLAND, Texas — The Battle of 181 proved to be highly contentious coming down to the last five minutes of the game. That's when the Sinton Pirates (4-0) locked up a 42-27 victory over Gregory-Portland in KRIS 6 News' Game of the Week.
The two schools separated by a near 17 miles on US-181 hadn't gone head to head since 2007. However, both have been notable programs in the Coastal Bend in recent years.
The G-P Wildcats (0-4) came out hot. After a great kick-off return, senior quarterback Reed Dooms delivered a dime to Brandon Coates for a 60 yard score.
Then, Sinton tried to answer. Quarterback Tristan Handson was forced to his left out of the pocket and picked off by Brent Nuss. However, G-P's drive went nowhere. A bad snap over Ryder Harrison's head resulted in a bad punt that gave Sinton great field position.
Sinton's second chance made it a ball game. Pirates faced a fourth down and six yards to go when Jacoby James made a Herculean effort to drag his defender past the first down maker, after making the catch.
Down on the six yard line, Sinton did what was expected and kept the ball in their quarterback's hands. Handson forced his way in for the touchdown.
The Wildcats were ready to answer, Dooms and Coates connected again for a long strike over the middle of the field. Their extra point was blocked resulting in a 13-7 game.
Sinton's slow and methodical offense ate some time off the clock as they consistently converted third down tries. Mykah Green, stepping into running back Friday night, gave the Pirates the lead 14-13. He scampered in from 19 yards out.
Into the second quarter, the Wildcats then came out with an up tempo offense, trying to wear down the Sinton defense. Dooms gave them the lead back on a five yard keeper. They tried to get level with a two point try but were unsuccessful. Wildcats led 19-14.
What was a consistent theme for the Pirates was the clutch connection between Handson and James. They got them down the field many times. On this drive they were stuffed around the 10 yard line and settled for a field goal try.
The kick missed, but G-P was called for roughing the kicker, bailing out the Pirates. Handson made them pay and put Sinton up for good 21-19.
Sinton looked to score again on their next drive until the snap was fumbled and recovered by G-P.
Like their game against Alice, Sinton flipped a switch coming out of half time to lock up the game. The opening play was a a run by Mykah Green, breaking tackles, but running out of gas at the three yard line for a 72 yard dash.
Handson did what he does best and finished off the drive.
28-19 Pirates.
The Wildcats had trouble stopping Sinton at that point. Green scored again on the next drive, but the G-P offense got it going.
Dooms picked up a clutch fourth down conversion. Later in the drive, Dooms finished it off himself. He also connected with Ryder Harrison on the two point conversion to bring the Wildcats within eight, 35-27.
G-P shut down Sinton on the next two drives. The pirates missed a field goal and punted to start the fourth quarter.
The Wildcat offense started to find life again, stringing together a physical drive. It ended horribly when Cody Adame met Sinton's Jonathan Rivas at the one yard line, fumbling the ball.
Sinton wasn't in the clear yet. Handson ran three straight times to get the ball out to the 10 yard line, but faced a fourth down and one to go. It appeared Sinton was going to go for it as the play clock ticked down and Handson was in the shotgun formation.
Before the snap, it appeared the defensive line shifted and then the offensive line moved. A lengthy discussion between officials resulted in a delay of game call against the defense, giving Sinton an automatic first down.
Defensive delay of game results when a defensive player makes an "uncommon football" move that causes the offense to false start.
The penalty killed most hope for the Wildcats as the Pirates drove down and Handson charged into the end zone from about 20 yards out.
For the Pirates good measure, they picked off Reed Dooms with a minute and thirty seconds to go to officially seal the win.
Sinton stays undefeated and their schedule gets no easier. They have a date with the Miller Buccaneers fresh off a win over Cuero, a team that shares a district with Sinton. That game is Friday Sept. 27.
A rough start to the season hasn't doomed the Wildcats still with a chance at the playoffs, if they take care of their new district foes. They'll look for their first win of the season at home against Alice, also on Sept. 27.
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