PITTSBURG – Elijah Bow by no means appeared to “go off,” however he by no means appeared to have a nasty carry, both.
In different phrases, Bow was constantly wonderful in Pittsburg’s 39-21 win over McClymonds. Throughout 33 carries, the sophomore ran for 183 yards and a landing.
Whereas there have been few highlight-reel runs that left a mass of defenders strewn throughout the turf, the halfback did have a big assortment of chain-moving bursts that stored Pittsburg’s offense on the sphere. The Pirates ran for 204 yards on the bottom.
“We dedicated to the run, and through our bye week we hammered our line to get again to the fundamentals,” Pittsburg coach Victor Galli stated. “It appeared to work tonight, and it wasn’t a murals however we have been in a position to put some good drives collectively.”
The guests received off to as nice a begin as they might have hoped for within the first quarter. McClymonds’ participant of the 12 months candidate Malik Richardson took down fellow midseason candidate Jaden Rashada on Pittsburg’s first offensive snap for a sack after which his teammate took down the quarterback for an additional loss and compelled a punt.
Redmani Albert took over on the punt, returning the ball down the sideline and slipping out of a sort out or two for an early 7-0 McClymonds lead. It seemed to be a repeat of Pittsburg’s shedding efficiency two weeks in the past towards Folsom, the place blocking and good particular groups appeared elective. However as a substitute of repeating historical past, the Pirates made changes.
They put the sport in sophomore Bow’s palms, giving him 20 carries within the first half. Bow rewarded Galli’s belief with 92 first-half yards and a landing, and slowed down McClymonds’ fearsome pass-rush.
Rashada, a Miami commit, offered an aerial risk when he was given higher safety, throwing to receivers like Rashid Williams and Zack Card within the brief recreation to unfold out the Warriors.
“Having all these weapons like Rashid Williams and me and Keynan, we’re stacked over right here,” receiver Khai Taylor stated. “We play soccer and we now have enjoyable.”
Rashada twice linked with the 6-2 senior Taylor for touchdowns, the primary being an 11-yard fade, and the second being a 35-yard tackle-breaking display screen move.
McClymonds’ offense struggled to get going, however halfback Jaivian Thomas gave them a momentary jolt with 10 minutes left within the second quarter.
Thomas took the handoff, drifted left, high-stepped away from just a few would-be Pirate tacklers, and scored a 63-yard landing. McClymonds went into halftime down 22-14 however nonetheless within the recreation regardless of the inconsistency in all phases of the sport, and a deficit in time of possession whereas Bow chewed up the clock with brief however constant good points.
“We had an opportunity, we simply shot ourselves within the foot,” McClymonds coach Michael Peters stated. “However we’re rebuilding and we’re younger.”
Tony Hamilton picked Rashada off twice within the second half to offer McClymonds brief fields. After one such choose, McClymonds rolled out Ferrari Miller as a quarterback. The athletic runner had a 20-yard run that led to a brief Thomas rating from three yards out. McClymonds trailed 22-21, however couldn't get the cease it wanted.
Rashada and Bow labored their approach downfield because the third quarter got here to an in depth, and Budha Boyd Jr. completed the drive with a 48-yard landing reception. Within the fourth quarter, McClymonds had an opportunity to take the lead when it had the ball within the crimson zone. A fumble ended their hopes of scoring and gave the ball again to Pittsburg.
McClymonds had beforehand racked up six sacks, with Rickari Campbell and Greg Kenny III main the way in which, and compelled Pittsburg into just a few iffy throws. To fight the move rush, Pittsburg stored the ball on the bottom throughout their remaining landing drive. After Bow carried the ball for a lot of the 65-yard drive, teammate Cameron Clanton capped it off with a brief landing run.
Pittsburg added one other discipline objective to complete the scoring and appears forward to its recreation towards Liberty subsequent Friday. McClymonds will attempt to regroup again in Oakland towards a high quality San Ramon Valley crew.
“We had some letdowns on the fallacious time, however I’m pleased with how my guys performed,” Peters stated. “They fought, and that’s all I can ask for.”
