Pirates rout Bulldogs 46-0 for region win

CARBON HILL — The Winfield Pirates scored on seven of their eight possessions to rout the Carbon Hill Bulldogs 46-0 on Friday, Oct. 13, at Carbon Hill.
The Pirates jumped out to a 15-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched the lead to 32-0 at the half. Winfield added two more scores in the second half and cruised to the 46-0 victory.
Winfield’s defense held Carbon Hill to only 73 total yards and secured their second shutout in the last three games.
The win improved the Pirates to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in Class 3A, Region 5 play.
After holding the Bulldogs to a three-and-out on their first possession of the game, Winfield took over at the Bulldogs’ 48-yard line.
The Pirates needed only one play to reach the end zone as Keylan Hughes raced 48 yards for a touchdown and with a 2-point conversion run by Ezerick Johnson, the Pirates led 8-0.
The Pirates’ next possession started at the Bulldogs’ 32-yard line, and they needed only four plays to reach the end zone once again.
Brady May threw a screen pass to D’Angelo Bankhead for 23 yards to setup Winfield at the 9-yard line. Hughes did the honors from there, covering the final 9 yards on three attempts and scoring on a 3-yard run. Jacob Barnes added the extra point to push the lead to 15-0.
The Pirates got on the scoreboard again in the second quarter as they marched 72 yards on five plays, as May started the drive with a 6-yard completion to Preston Nelson, and then passed to Kruz Box for 5 more yards. With first-and-10 at the Winfield 39, Hughes took a handoff for 21 yards to the Carbon Hill 40-yard line. Blake Ballard finished the drive with 28 and 12-yard runs respectively with the last going in for a touchdown.
Barnes’ extra point moved the lead to 22-0.
Winfield’s next possession saw them start at the Carbon Hill 25-yard line after a big punt return by Bankhead. Declyn Morgan ran twice to cover the 25 yards and finished this drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Barnes’ extra point pushed the lead to 29-0.
Winfield’s defense forced another Bulldogs’ three-and-out and after the punt, got the ball at their own 43.
Blaine Bowen completed his first pass of the night to Sean Wyers for 24 yards, and later, Braxton Tilley ran the Pirates’ offense down to the Carbon Hill 17 before the drive stalled and the Pirates were forced to attempt a field goal.
Barnes put toe to leather and booted the ball through the uprights for a 34-yard field goal to give Winfield a 32-0 lead going into the half.
In the third quarter, Winfield added another score as May passed to Bankhead once again for a 47-yard touchdown pass, and with Barnes’ extra point, the Pirates’ lead grew to 39-0.
Winfield added one more score in the fourth quarter as Tilley found the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown run. Barnes added the extra point to make the score 46-0, and the Pirates’ defense held the Bulldogs after that point to secure the region victory.
Winfield finished the night with 391 total yards with 289 rushing and 102 passing.
Hughes led the rushing attack with 8 attempts for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Tilley ran 6 times for 57 yards and a score. Morgan ran 4 times for 41 yards and a touchdown. Ballard ran twice for 40 yards and a score. Bowen ran 3 times for 35 yards, and May ran once for 11 yards.
May was 5-of-5 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Bowen completed 1-of-3 passes for 24 yards.
Bankhead led the receivers with 2 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Wyers had one grab for 24 yards. Nelson had a catch for 6 yards, and Box had a catch for 5 yards.
Winfield (5-1, 2-1 Class 3A, Region 5) will host rival and region opponent the Fayette County Tigers (4-3, 2-2 in Class 3A, Region 5) on Friday, Oct. 20.