Friday, March 29, 2024

End of the road

Posted

The Granbury Pirates were eliminated from the Class 5A DI playoffs in the bi-district round with a 56-19 loss at Denton Ryan Thursday.

Ryan jumped out to a 28-0 lead after one quarter. The Raiders are one of the most athletic teams in the state and are ranked in the Top 5 in the class.

Ryan had scores of 30, 22, 79, 54, 54 and 30 yards from the line of scrimmage, and added a 54-yard punt return from Billy Bowman Jr., a University of Texas commit, for another touchdown.

Granbury (6-5, 5-3 District 3-5A DI) reached the end zone with less than five minutes left in the second quarter. A nifty trick play saw quarterback Austin Jinkerson throw a backwards bounce pass to Cordel Gibson, who fired it to Tristan Morris for a 71-yard gain.

Morris would score on the next play, a 4-yard pass from Jinkerson, to cut the lead to 49-7. This was just the second varsity game and the first varsity start for Jinkerson, a sophomore that played most of the season with the junior varsity.

Ryan added another score before the half to take a 56-7 lead into the break.

Clayton Kracy punched in a two-yard run in the third quarter for another Gran-bury touchdown, making the score 56-13 entering the fourth quarter.

The play of the game for the Pirates came in the fourth quarter, when senior cornerback Mateo Tort intercepted a tipped ball and returned it 43 yards for a pick-six. Tort capped off the touchdown by dunking the ball in celebration on a basketball goal on the Granbury’s sideline, the final time the Pirates would be able to celebrate a turnover in 2019.

His touchdown made the score 56-19, where it would stay for the rest of the game.

A double-reverse flea-flicker for the Pirates that would’ve added another touchdown in the fourth quarter was called back due to offensive pass interference.

Punter Logan Moore also had a highlight, recovering a fumbled snap, evading several Ryan defenders and launching a solid punt of over 40 yards on the run.

This is the first time Gran-bury has made the postseason since 2013. The Pirates made the playoffs each year from 2010-13, but hadn’t played in the bi-district round before that since 1977.

For a full roundup of Gran-bury’s season, see the next edition of the Hood County News.

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