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Pirates still seek first grid win
  
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By Tom Munds
Englewood will be playing for pride as it takes the field Nov. 6, seeking its first win of the season against Arvada.
Arvada comes into the game 1-8. It runs out of a pro-set formation on offense and plays a basic 4-4 alignment on defense. Englewood counters with a spread, shotgun formation and a 5-3 defense. Both teams have struggled so far this year and both teams will be looking to get well and post that all-important win to close out the season.
The game will be played Nov. 6 at Englewood High School stadium. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students with school identification.
The faces of the Englewood players and coaches reflected the disappointment Oct. 24 as they lost to Skyview, 34-12, the eighth straight grid loss and the scene was repeated after the 52-21 Oct. 30 loss to Elizabeth.
But Pirates coach Matt Bednorz lauded the players for their effort and their refusal to quit even when behind by three or more touchdowns.
“I love your guys,” Bednorz told the team after the Skyview game. “I know it’s been rough this season because it isn’t fun to lose. We’ve had some guys sidelined by injuries and we have some guys quit the team. But you guys have hung in there and stuck with us. I am proud of your dedication and I am proud that, in every game, you didn’t quit or give up until the final whistle.”
Despite the disappointment season so far, the 25 players who have stuck with the program each have pledged not to quit but to continue to put in the effort to come away
The Pirates expected to be competitive as they approached the Oct. 24 game against Skyview but that didn’t happen as the Wolverines took the opening kickoff and mounted a strong running attack as they marched down the field for a touchdown.
It appeared Englewood was going to respond in kind but repeatedly, Englewood saw promising drives ended by turnovers. Skyview stretched its lead to 34-0 early in the final quarter. But the Pirates refused to quit and continued to have success with some of the plays and got on the scoreboard with about nine minutes left in the game when quarterback Jacob Lowder completed a 48-yard pass to Chris Nunnelly. With just under three minutes remaining, Lowder connected on a 20-yard pass to Johnny Waltz for a TD. Both extra-point tries failed.
Lowder finished the game completing 13 of 22 passes for 202 yards.
Nunnelly was the leading receiver with five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, while Anthony Gomez was the rushing leader with seven carried
Junior linebacker Dustin Fletcher was among the leading tacklers and he alertly made an interception, the first in his football career, and carried it deep into Wolverine territory.
“I thought I might go all the way because there wasn’t anyone in front of me,” Fletcher said after the game. “But that guy caught me from behind. I would liked to have scored for us but it still felt good to make an interception.
Junior receiver Steve Ross caught a pair of passes for 66 yards.
“It felt good to be able to help our team today,” he said after the game. “This was the first time I was assigned a deep route and, for both patterns, I was able to drift in behind the defender. I liked catching the ball for good yardage but it would have been better if we could have won the game.”
Bednorz again praised the effort, pride, determination after the Oct. 30 despite the fact the Pirates lost to Elizabeth 52-21.
While the Cardinals exploded to go on top to stay, a bright spot for the Pirates was the 71-yard touchdown run by senior Mike Tolle.
Tolle is playing running back for the first time this season. After the game, he said it was a great feeling to run for a touchdown it was even better because he did it against rival Elizabeth.
“It was exciting because it was the first time I broke a long run for a touchdown,” the senior said after the game. “There was great blocking up front on the play and it was just open field ahead when I got through the line. I knew I was being chased but I ran as fast as I could. The coach said that is the fastest he’s every seen me run. The one guy did catch up but I stiff-armed him, got him off me and went into the end zone.”
Lowder also reached a milestone as he completed 12 of 27 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns to put him over 1,000 yards for the season.
“It was pretty good out there tonight,” Lowder said after the game. “The guys blocked for me and enabled me to take a little more time to find the open guy.”
He and Tolle agreed they were proud of their teammates, who kept battling and showed a lot of heart against a very good team. They also agreed they will go out with the same attitude and determination against Arvada.
Nunnelly was another player who had a big night as he caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.
“Elizabeth covered me OK but several times, I was able to get by the defender so Jacob (Lowder) could throw me the ball,” he said. “The statistics are nice and I am proud of my play but it would have been a lot better if we could have come away with a win. I think, if we play like we did tonight, we’ll get that first win next week against Arvada.”
Arvada comes into the game 1-8. It runs out of a pro-set formation on offense and plays a basic 4-4 alignment on defense. Englewood counters with a spread, shotgun formation and a 5-3 defense. Both teams have struggled so far this year and both teams will be looking to get well and post that all-important win to close out the season.
The game will be played Nov. 6 at Englewood High School stadium. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students with school identification.
The faces of the Englewood players and coaches reflected the disappointment Oct. 24 as they lost to Skyview, 34-12, the eighth straight grid loss and the scene was repeated after the 52-21 Oct. 30 loss to Elizabeth.
But Pirates coach Matt Bednorz lauded the players for their effort and their refusal to quit even when behind by three or more touchdowns.
“I love your guys,” Bednorz told the team after the Skyview game. “I know it’s been rough this season because it isn’t fun to lose. We’ve had some guys sidelined by injuries and we have some guys quit the team. But you guys have hung in there and stuck with us. I am proud of your dedication and I am proud that, in every game, you didn’t quit or give up until the final whistle.”
Despite the disappointment season so far, the 25 players who have stuck with the program each have pledged not to quit but to continue to put in the effort to come away
The Pirates expected to be competitive as they approached the Oct. 24 game against Skyview but that didn’t happen as the Wolverines took the opening kickoff and mounted a strong running attack as they marched down the field for a touchdown.
It appeared Englewood was going to respond in kind but repeatedly, Englewood saw promising drives ended by turnovers. Skyview stretched its lead to 34-0 early in the final quarter. But the Pirates refused to quit and continued to have success with some of the plays and got on the scoreboard with about nine minutes left in the game when quarterback Jacob Lowder completed a 48-yard pass to Chris Nunnelly. With just under three minutes remaining, Lowder connected on a 20-yard pass to Johnny Waltz for a TD. Both extra-point tries failed.
Lowder finished the game completing 13 of 22 passes for 202 yards.
Nunnelly was the leading receiver with five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, while Anthony Gomez was the rushing leader with seven carried
Junior linebacker Dustin Fletcher was among the leading tacklers and he alertly made an interception, the first in his football career, and carried it deep into Wolverine territory.
“I thought I might go all the way because there wasn’t anyone in front of me,” Fletcher said after the game. “But that guy caught me from behind. I would liked to have scored for us but it still felt good to make an interception.
Junior receiver Steve Ross caught a pair of passes for 66 yards.
“It felt good to be able to help our team today,” he said after the game. “This was the first time I was assigned a deep route and, for both patterns, I was able to drift in behind the defender. I liked catching the ball for good yardage but it would have been better if we could have won the game.”
Bednorz again praised the effort, pride, determination after the Oct. 30 despite the fact the Pirates lost to Elizabeth 52-21.
While the Cardinals exploded to go on top to stay, a bright spot for the Pirates was the 71-yard touchdown run by senior Mike Tolle.
Tolle is playing running back for the first time this season. After the game, he said it was a great feeling to run for a touchdown it was even better because he did it against rival Elizabeth.
“It was exciting because it was the first time I broke a long run for a touchdown,” the senior said after the game. “There was great blocking up front on the play and it was just open field ahead when I got through the line. I knew I was being chased but I ran as fast as I could. The coach said that is the fastest he’s every seen me run. The one guy did catch up but I stiff-armed him, got him off me and went into the end zone.”
Lowder also reached a milestone as he completed 12 of 27 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns to put him over 1,000 yards for the season.
“It was pretty good out there tonight,” Lowder said after the game. “The guys blocked for me and enabled me to take a little more time to find the open guy.”
He and Tolle agreed they were proud of their teammates, who kept battling and showed a lot of heart against a very good team. They also agreed they will go out with the same attitude and determination against Arvada.
Nunnelly was another player who had a big night as he caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.
“Elizabeth covered me OK but several times, I was able to get by the defender so Jacob (Lowder) could throw me the ball,” he said. “The statistics are nice and I am proud of my play but it would have been a lot better if we could have come away with a win. I think, if we play like we did tonight, we’ll get that first win next week against Arvada.”
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