CHARLESTOWN — Early missed opportunities proved costly to Charlestown on Friday as it fell 20-0 to Class 3A No.6 Indian Creek in the opening round of Class 3A Sectional 23 at Dutch Reis Field.
Charlestown (7-3) trailed only 6-0 with just over eight minutes left in the game.
But two late scores by the Braves assured them of keeping their undefeated season intact (10-0).
“We had field position the entire first half and couldn't get any points,” said Charlestown coach Jason Hawkins. “I was afraid that would come back and bite us. We couldn’t take advantage.”
The Pirates had the ball four times inside the 30 yard line before halftime, and each of the four occurances saw the Pirates fail to convert on fourth down.
As its offense struggled, the Pirate defense was doing an outstanding job of shutting down the passing attack of the Braves, who entered the game averaging nearly 40 points an outing. Indian Creek did get on the board though on their second series as Jared Weiss’ diving grab in the end zone of a Trey Reese pass put the Braves on top, 6-0.
Indian Creek put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns following Pirate turnovers. Reese scored on a 36-yard run following an interception, and Brandon Cochran added a 2-yard run following a fumble recovery.
On the night, the Pirates committed six turnovers, the Braves finished with just two.
Charlestown will lose 12 seniors next season, a class that contributed a lot during their time at Charlestown according to Hawkins.
“We had a season that no one thought we could have,” he said. “A lot of that was due to the leadership of these seniors. And don’t forget what these kids have accomplished in their last three years. Three Mid-Southern Conference championships.”
Michael Baines led the Pirates on Friday with 98 yards on 20 carries. Josh Graham added 71 yards on 18 carries. Reese completed 11-of-25 passes for 115 yards and gained 93 yards on 16 carries.
“I thought we had a good game plan going in,” Hawkins said. “They're a good team, they’re not ranked No.6 in the state for nothing. But we couldn't make the plays to get over the top.
“Josh suffered a concussion and sat the second half last week and we couldn't hit him in practice this week. I wish we could have put the ball in his hands more.”
Hawkins praised the play of his quarterback, freshman Gage Brafford despite a rough outing.
“Gage Brafford is going to be a good player before he’s through here,” Hawkins said. “He got thrown into the fire this week, but I thought he did a good job. He did everything that I asked him to.”
INDIAN CREEK 6 0 0 14—20
CHARLESTOWN 0 0 0 0— 0
First quarter
I — Weiss 8 pass from Reese (kick failed) 7:52
Fourth quarter
I — Reese 36 run (Vleck pass from Reese) 8:14
I — Cochran 2 run (kick failed) 4:04
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