Pirates’ defense does job
The Pirates scored 31 unanswered points in the second half to take control. Glenn Pettis finished with 27 carries for 141 yards — including touchdown runs of 4, 1 and 19 yards — all in the second half. Anthony Corpuz added 94 yards on the ground, as the Pirates ran the ball 63 times for 333 yards.
“Our offensive line did a tremendous job,” Pettis said. “They kept fighting and fighting and pushing.”
The Pirates trailed 7-6 at halftime, despite holding the Dragons to minus-14 yards of offense and having control of the ball for nearly 17 minutes.
San Leandro had to settle for two Jesus Esparza field goals early, then looked as if it was going to get into the end zone after running 13 plays and moving the ball 56 yards to get to the Dragons’ 20.
But Brian Mouton drilled Lewis Belt, forcing a fumble. Mouton scooped up the loose ball and raced 70 yards for the score with 1:53 left in the half. But it was all San Leandro after that.
After holding the Pirates to 124 yards rushing and forcing three fumbles in the first half, the Dragons’ defense finally wore down, giving up 209 yards on the ground in the second half.
The big blow came just two plays after Pettis’ 4-yard score put the Pirates up 14-7 in the third quarter. Dragons’ center Greg Jackson snapped the ball over quarterback John Bowler’s head and out of the end zone for a safety and a 16-7 Pirates lead.
“It seemed that our guys got down and didn’t get back up,” Perenon said. “They didn’t pick themselves back up.”
The Pirates’ offense fumbled the ball five times — losing three - - which was a big concern to coach Brad Bowers.
“There are still a lot of mistakes that we need to clean up,” Bowers said. “Anytime you put the ball on the ground five times you can’t feel good about it.”