By Maurice Singleton/Sports Writer

PASS CHRISTIAN — The Pass High Pirates scored two touchdowns in the first minute and six seconds of the third quarter to take a 10-point lead, and that would be enough for them to hold on for a 35-33 win over East Central on Friday.

On the first of their third quarter scores, the Pirates would recover a Hornets onside kick at midfield. Then on the first snap, junior quarterback Paris Trivillion connected with wide receiver Dwight Thomas downfield for a 50-yard score to give the Pirates a 28-25 lead with 11:49 showing on the third quarter clock.

Then the Pass kickoff team would respond with an onside kick of their own, and they would recover it at the East Central 38-yard line to give them even better field position than on the East Central onside kick. Trivillion would get sacked on the first snap, losing 7 yards, but he would pick up 18 yards two plays later on a quarterback keeper. Senior Ryland Shoulders would cap the drive with a four-yard carry for the touchdown, giving the Pirates a 35—25 lead after Kaiden Mooney’s fifth PAT kick of the night.

“Overall, this was a big win for us,” said Pirates coach Jeff Stockstill. “That’s a good football team. Their record does not indicate their level of play.

“We knew this team was going to come in here and punch us in the face,” said Stockstill. “We made some adjustments at halftime, and we came out of the gate swinging. We came out fired up. Scored, got a stop; scored again, and kind of went flat, didn’t execute as well. I think this is a hurdle we have to overcome if we want to compete for our district.

“Overall, I’m proud of our defense. We left them on the field the whole night. That was a really big stand with twenty seconds left.”

The stand was denying the Hornets a 2-point conversion after they drove the ball 82 yards on their last possession of the night. Sophomore quarterback Maddox Dunn would run the ball four times on the drive, but he would also throw three times. He connecting twice to Hayden Fowler twice, the first for 41 yards to advance the ball to the Pirates’ 14-yard line, then two plays later in the end zone of a 14-yard score.

With 25 ticks on the game clock, the Hornets would go for two to tie the game. But the Pirates’ defense got through the line of scrimmage and sacked Dunn.

The Hornets would try an onside kick, but the Pirates fielded the kick near the Hornets’ sideline, ending the Hornets chances.

“I feel like the kids fought their guts out all night long,” said East Central coach Sam Huff. “It comes down to us getting two yards. I feel like every time the ball is snapped, we should be able to get four yards. We elected to run there at the end to try to tie the game. You can’t have block PATs. It’s little things in a game like this.”

The Hornets scored first in the game on a 36-yard Dunn keeper, capping the Hornets’ first possession.

Pass failed to pick up a first down on their first possession, but they took advantage of a short field on their second possession, going 38 yards on seven plays as Trivillion connected with Thomas from 14 yards out to even the score at 7-7 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

East Central took the lead on their ensuing possession as Myareion Tinson scored on a 1-yard run to give the Hornets a 13-7 lead with 28 seconds remaining on the first quarter clock. The PAT kick was blocked, which gave the Hornets a 13-7 lead.

The Pirates would capitalize on a Hornets’ fumble on their next possession as Trivillion would connect on three passes for 4, 28, and an 11-yard completion for the touchdown to Truong-Nguyen for a 14-13 lead early in the second quarter.

Dunn scored on a 12-yard keeper with just over three minutes left before halftime to give the Hornets a 19-14 lead.

Jorge Barajas would close out the first half scoring when he scored on a 60-yard pick 6 to extend the Hornets lead to 25-14 with just under a minute to play before halftime.

Trivillion would score on a 3-yard keeper to close out the first half scoring at 25-21.