The nonstop sideline banter of freshman lineman Reece Bruggner meant the Pinckey Pirates still had a chance of pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the young Michigan high school football season.
“Come on fellas, we got a shot at this. We got a shot at this,” he shouted to teammates as the Pirates gallantly marched down the field trailing 7-0 to powerhouse Chelsea Friday night in Chelsea. “Let’s get hyped up. Let’s do this.”
Alas, Bruggner didn’t take his last breath until 72 seconds remained as his teammates made their last gasp, driving deep into Bulldog territory looking to send this game into overtime. The final nail didn’t come until a fourth down pass fell harmlessly to the ground, silencing Bruggner and finally allowing the Chelsea sideline and stands to take a breath with a closer than expected 7-0 victory.
The pesky Pirates (0-3) were at it again, taking a Michigan football power to the brink before folding at the end. This hardly looked like a team that lost its 12th game in a row. The Pirates drove to the two-yard line late, but penalties drove them from the brink to far behind the chains.
The Pirates attempt to right the ship next Friday with a home game against Jackson (3-0), which is gunning for a SEC White Division title.
This season Pinckney has lost games to Lake Fenton (21-12), Corunna (35-20) and Chelsea (7-0), teams that throttled the Pirates by a combined 131-6 a season ago. Their opponents are a combined 7-2 and should all qualify for the MHSAA state playoffs. Pinckney still dreams of ripping off a six-game winning streak and cashing its ticket to the playoffs. That would be laughable in years past. But it is possible this year.
The difference is a group of motivated seniors that are filled with the knowledge of author John Maxwell who wrote The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
He wrote about communication. Without it you travel alone.
Commitment. It separates doers from dreamers
“We are right there. We are right there,” Pinckney coach Jason Carpenter told his team after the game. “I would not want to go to war with anyone but this group right here. You played your guts out. You hear?”
The difference between the two teams was a one-yard touchdown punch on the opening drive by junior running back Caden Steele. The lead held up, but not without a fight from the Pirates. Sophomore quarterback Jax Raymond completed 26 of 32 passes for 227 yards. Eight of those passes went to All-State receiver Nolan Carruthers for 81 yards.
Defensively, outside linebacker Jacob Miner isn’t a big guy (five-foot 8, 175 pounds). But he sure played big, recording five quarterback sacks and forcing Chelsea quarterback Nate Christen to get rid of the ball quicker than he wanted at least three other times.
“You are seeing the results,” Carpenter said. “We don’t give up. We just don’t give up. We try to work as hard as we can. We are almost there. We are almost there.”