Sarasota sails past Pirates

BRADEN RIVER — With all the changes that have occurred over the past six months, the Pirate football team was eager to seek revenge on the man who had been the root of the most recent alterations, former head coach Ed Volz.

When Braden River football coach Josh Hunter resigned, Ed Volz took charge and led the Pirates to a 7-5 season last year. When Volz announced he would be leaving Braden River to coach the school at which he was an assistant coach, the football program was in need of nearly a brand new staff. Multiple coaches followed Volz to assist him in coaching the Sailors, while defensive coaches Chad Choate and Chris Valcarcel headed to the state runner-up Manatee Hurricanes.

The moves forced Braden River Athletic Director Bob Bowling to rebuild the Pirate football staff starting with Don Purvis. Purvis assembled a coaching staff with coaches from his previous school in Tennessee and others throughout Manatee County. So when the Pirates finally had their chance to take on their former coaches, they weren’t going to give up without a fight. Braden River lost its third of the season 23-21 in its home-opener Sept. 17.

“We played our heart out,” said senior Dillon Romine. “We went on the field thinking that we could’ve beat him (Volz), but we just didn’t play hard enough. The last half we played harder, but we need to play the first half the way we played the second half.”

The Pirates started the game with a 47-yard kickoff return by Reshay McQueen and followed that with a 44-yard touchdown run by senior Oladipo Kolawole. Two touchdowns from Sarasota quarterback Sean Hurley paired with a field goal left the game with a 17-7 score heading into the second half. Late in the third quarter, the Sailors scored their final touchdown of the game to increase their lead to 16 points, 23-7.

“We weren’t playing Venice, so that helped, but I will say they played a very gutsy game,” Purvis said. “They (defense) fought hard for four quarters. The offense put them in some bad situations, and they responded. … They made it hard for Sarasota to drive the length of the field, and I’m really proud of the way the defense played.”

In the fourth quarter, the Pirates had a chance for some late-game heroics. Soon after Sarasota’s final score, Pirate running back Javar Baity broke free for a 53-yard touchdown, which, along with a two-point conversion from Kolawole, left the Pirates trailing by a touchdown.

“It was exhilarating,” Baity said. “I just have to thank offense.”

On the Pirates next drive, Kolawole rushed for 26 yards, setting Baity up to run the ball for 21 yards followed by a 9-yard scamper and the final touchdown for Braden River. A Sarasota interception from Braden River quarterback Ryan Fischer ended the Pirates final drive and concluded the game with a final score of 23-21.

“Defensively, we did pretty good,” said defensive back Ben Peacock. “We really played good. We let them (Sarasota) have one long drive, but we made them earn it.”

The Pirates are now 0-3 for the first time in school history. This Friday, the Pirates will take on the Bayshore Bruins in their first district game of the season in their run for the district championship, a title Southeast has won for the past two years with the Pirates trailing in second.

When asked what his team will do to improve for the upcoming game, Purvis said: “I’d say probably the biggest thing this week is we’re going to really crank down more on, is the little bitty things that are killing us right now.”