Pirates cruise into second round of playoffs with 44-14 win over Indians

WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates cruised into the second round of the AHSAA Class 3A State Playoffs with a 44-14 victory over the Colbert County Indians on Friday, Nov. 8, in Winfield.
Winfield scored on four out of six possessions in the first half and added two more touchdowns on their three possessions in the second half, effectively sealing the win against the Indians and advancing in the playoffs.
Keylan Hughes led the Pirates’ rushing attack, scoring 3 touchdowns and 105 yards on 22 carries, scoring on runs of 7, 3 and 4 yards.
The Pirates held the Indians on their first possession and forced a three-and-out and a punt, as the Pirates took over at their own 46-yard line.
Winfield needed only two plays to reach the end zone as quarterback Brady May threw a screen pass to Garrett Beasley, and Beasley outran all defenders for a 52-yard touchdown catch and run.
Declyn Morgan ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Pirates an 8-0 lead with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
Colbert County answered on the ensuing kickoff as Jashad Samples took in the kick at his own 4-yard line, and was hit at the 10-yard line and fumbled, but Colbert County’s D.J. McCray picked up the fumble and blazed a path down the Indians’ sideline for a touchdown.
Bryan Martinez added the extra point to cut the lead to 8-7 with 8:59 left in the first quarter.
Winfield answered the Indians touchdown with another of their own, as Hughes went to work along with some timely passes by May to advance the ball into the red zone, and Hughes finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.
Kyson Key ran in the 2-point conversion to push the lead to 16-7 with 3:26 left in the first quarter.
Colbert County answered again asSamples broke through the Pirates’ defense and ran for a 51-yard touchdown. Martinez's extra point was good to cut into the Pirates’ lead at 16-14 with 2:14 left in the first quarter.
Hughes and Morgan went back to work for Winfield, moving the Pirates 74 yards in 11 plays as Hughes cashed in on a 3-yard touchdown run. Ezerick Johnson ran in the 2-point conversion to extend the Pirates’ lead to 24-14 with 6:22 left in the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, the Pirates began a drive at the Colbert County 21-yard line. May completed a 4-yard pass to Hayden Ballard and then found Beasley again on the sideline in the end zone. Beasley managed to keep a toe inbounds for the touchdown catch. May’s extra point attempt missed its mark, but the Pirates lead was now 30-14 with 37 seconds left in the first half.
To start the second half, the Pirates went back to the running game, and Hughes, Morgan and Ballard paced the attack with Hughes finishing the 83-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
May’s extra point was good, and the Pirates lead grew to 37-14 with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
Winfield added one more score late as Morgan scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 14-play 66-yard drive. May added the extra point to make the score 44-14 with 4:11 left in the game.
The Pirates' defense held the Indians once more, and Winfield was able to kneel on the ball and run out the clock on the first-round playoff victory.
The Pirates finished the game with 367 yards with 236 rushing and 131 passing.
Along with Hughes 105 yards and 3 scores, Morgan ran 12 times for 80 yards and a score.
Ballard ran twice for 25 yards, and May rushed 8 times for 24 yards. Key rushed once for 2 yards.
May completed 6-of-11 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdown passes.
Beasley led the receivers with 4 catches for 114 yards and 2 scores. Ballard caught 2 passes for 17 yards.
Winfield will host Sylvania this Friday in the second round of the AHSAA Class 3A State playoffs. Sylvania eliminated the Pirates last season in the second round in a 35-10 loss for Winfield.