Pirates’ Defense stifles Sylvania in 35-20 win

WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates defense forced five turnovers to upend the Sylvania Rams 35-20 in the second round of the Class 3A State Playoffs on Friday, Nov. 15, in Winfield.
Winfield built a 28-0 halftime lead with 2 pick-6 touchdowns and two offensive scores, held off a furious comeback in the second half by Sylvania and added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The Pirates intercepted a pass on the Rams' first drive of the night as Blaine Bowen picked off a pass at the Winfield 33.
Winfield’s offense could not get anything going on its initial drive of the night and punted back to Sylvania.
Winfield got on the board first with a pick 6 by Declyn Morgan on Sylvania’s next drive, as he intercepted the Rams pass at their 27-yard line and fought his way into the end zone for the touchdown.
The extra point was wide right but the Pirates led the Rams 6-0 with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
Winfield’s offense got on the board in the second quarter as the Pirates moved the ball 69 yards on 11 plays with Morgan cashing in on a 7-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Brady May completed the 2-point conversion pass to Sean Wyers to up the Pirates’ lead to 14-0 with 7:54 left in the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, the Pirates' offense found some rhythm as May went to the air, completing 4-of-5 passes on the drive and connecting with Garrett Beasley for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
May’s extra point was good, and the Pirates’ lead grew to 21-0 with 1:05 left in the first half.
As time was winding down in the first half, Kyson Key stepped in front of another Rams’ pass and returned it 65 yards for another pick 6 touchdown. May’s extra point was good as both teams headed to the locker room for halftime with the Pirates holding a 28-0 lead.
In the second half, the Rams' offense got things rolling. The rushing attack of Sylvania scored three times on runs of 39, 2 and 5 yards and converted a 2-point conversion to cut the Pirates’ lead to 28-20.
Winfield took over possession with 9:53 left in the game, and Morgan gave the Rams a heavy dose of the running game, and later in the drive, he passed to Hayden Ballard for 13 yards for a first down at the Rams’ 34-yard line.
Morgan ripped off consecutive 10-yard gains to move the ball to the Sylvania 14 before he found running room around the left end and made his way into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown run.
May’s extra point was good, and the Pirates extended their lead to 35-20 with 5:58 left in the game.
The Rams' ensuing possession ended on the first play as Winfield’s Dacian Williams intercepted a pass giving possession back to the Pirates.
Sylvania’s defense stepped up and forced a Pirates’ three-and-out and a punt and took over at their own 29-yard line.
The Pirates’ defense hunkered down and held the Rams and forced a turnover on downs, and then proceeded to kneel out the final minute of the game to secure the victory.
Winfield finished the game with 232 total yards, with 146 rushing and 86 passing yards.
Keylan Hughes led the rushers for Winfield with 17 carries for 61 yards. Morgan had 8 carries for 59 yards and 2 touchdowns. May ran 8 times for 32 yards.
May completed 11-of-14 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Morgan completed 1-of-2 passes for 13 yards.
Beasley led the receivers with 4 catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. Walt Hennicke caught one ball for 26 yards. Ballard had 2 grabs for 25 yards, and Wyers caught 2 passes for 11 yards.
Defensively, Bowen, Williams, Morgan and Key each had an interception with Morgan and Key returning theirs for touchdowns.
Williams also had a fumble recovery.
Winfield will travel to take on the Mars Hill Panthers in the third round of the AHSAA Class 3A State playoffs on Friday, Nov. 22, in Florence.