Yellow Jackets sting Pirates

BRADEN RIVER — After only eight days of practice, Braden River coach Don Purvis knew the Pirates’ Spring Game wasn’t going to be perfect.

With only a limited amount of time to practice and a plethora of changes both in terms of the player personnel on the field and the offensive system, Purvis tried to keep his expectations in perspective.

First and foremost, he planned to use the game as a way to establish his starters for the coming season. But he also hoped the game would help the Pirates pinpoint some of their weaknesses. Any other highlights he saw along the way — well those were just an added bonus.

On May 13, Braden River appeared to be right about where Purvis had gauged the Pirates to be after watching his team fall 7-0 to visiting St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut.

“We had an open competition among (some guys),” Purvis said. “I felt like evaluating talent is the key, because you’re not going to be able to evaluate it again until one game before the season starts — and by then its almost too late.

“I saw some good things, but I saw a lot of things we’ve got to fix,” he said. “It’s exactly what I thought (it would be) in the spring. I didn’t have a whole lot of high expectations. We came in, and we were just hoping we would be able to execute a little better than we did, but a lot of that had to do with them (Admiral Farragut).”

Offensively, the Pirates struggled to maintain any sort of rhythm. Braden River is looking to replace all but one of its offensive linemen from a year ago, which proved to be an area of concern heading into the Spring Game.

“I think there’s one guy on the offensive line that was on the offensive line last year, and that’s tough,” Purvis said. “That’s a big area we need to address.”

Junior wide receiver and defensive back Ryan Fischer ended up getting open on more than one occasion but was unable to connect with quarterback Steven Ross in the end zone. 

Fischer hauled in three receptions from Ross for 56 yards, and Troy Gatling caught three passes for 33 yards. Fischer also intercepted a Rayshawn Jenkins pass in the final moments of the first half to disrupt a potential Yellow Jacket scoring drive.

Ross completed five of 17 passes for 86 yards, but Purvis said he was pleased with the way his players performed with such a short amount of time to prepare.

“We played without some guys and that was good,” Purvis said. “We got to evaluate a lot of people. I really thought Ryan Fischer ran some great routes, made a great effort and had a couple of really good runs. He was wide open a few times tonight and we left some big plays on the field. When you miss opportunities against teams, it will come back at you. He kept getting open, and we’ve got to get him the ball.

“I think he (Ross) was doing the right things, he was just a hair off on executing some of our plays, and that’s just going to come in time,” Purvis said.

Defensively, the Pirates forced four turnovers, including interceptions by Fischer and Nathan Kirkman and fumble recoveries by Marcus Balliette and Tyler Linde. But Braden River was unable to capitalize on its opportunities.

Deon Taylor and Kelvin Albritton also recorded sacks for the Pirates.

Admiral Farragut’s lone touchdown came in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Cortavous Givens. The Yellow Jackets finished with more than 240 yards on the ground while Braden River was held to just 49 yards on the ground.

Braden River will head to Raymond James Stadium May 21 to compete in an intra-squad game, signaling the end of spring practice. The Pirates will open the regular season at home Sept. 2 versus rival Lakewood Ranch.

“We threw a lot at them in a short period of time,” Purvis said. “We made a lot of changes, and I’m proud they came out here and they had a lot of effort. I loved that.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].