Two years ago, the Gore Pirates played for the gold ball and a state championship, but ended up state runnerup and getting a silver ball.
After losing the bulk of that team coming into the 2023 season a year ago, no one thought the Pirates would go 9-3 and make it to the second round of the Class A playoffs.
After losing only four seniors from last year’s squad, the Pirates are anxious to see how far they can go in 2024, which will begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 at Wilburton.
“What we did last year, nobody expected us to do that, losing 21 seniors from the year before and having a starter moving off,” Gore coach Brandon Ellis said. “We were starting last year with basically one returning starter. We played a lot of young kids. They got a lot of playing time and experience. We finished in the second round (of the Class A playoffs) and went 9-3. I think we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, but, of course, we’re never satisfied. This year, we lost five guys, so a lot of our guys have seen playing time. They’ve been out there in the grind. We’re just excited for it (the new season). Everybody is looking forward to 2024 (season).”
Junior Tate Brooksher is back to run the offense as starting quarterback.
“Tate did well,” Ellis said. “He got thrown into the fire last year. He was taking reps in spring ball while he was a freshman, and he started as a sophomore. He did an unbelievable job for us. It was kind of a blessing in disguise because we were going to have him (at that time) for three more years. He is a weapon. He is a threat. He’s got 12 games underneath his belt now.”
Ellis calls his offensive backfield a “two-headed monster” thanks to junior Bladin McCartney and sophomore Devon Mannon.
“We’ve got a twoheaded monster back there,” Ellis said. “They got tons of playing time last year. Bladin started and Devon rotated in there, and they did a great job for us. Both those guys in the backfield are hard runners, tough and are unselfish with the ball. They’re just hard-nosed kids.”
One of the four seniors the Pirates will have to replace is graduating senior wide receiver Journey Shells. Ellis believes that task has been taken care of thanks to sophomore Keeton Rowe.
“Keeton Rowe is moving to the slot position,” Ellis said. “He’ll be our main receiver out there now.”
However, Rowe won’t be the only receiving target for Gore’s QB.
“We have Bryon McDuffie coming back, and he played some of that role last year,” Ellis said. “We’re going to move (McDuffie) inside at more of a slot receiver, so there’s two veteran guys out there that basically started last year — just in different roles. Jagger Moore is back (at tight end). Jagger is an athletic lineman that can catch. He does a great job for us blocking and a great job for us catching, so he is also a weapon.”
The Pirates’ offensive linemen may have been young last year, but they now have a year under their belts.
“We’re going to basically have three guys with a lot of playing time,” Ellis said. “We’re moving Drake Cowart to the line this year. Drake started as a defensive lineman last year, and he’s going to pick up the right side guard (position) for us. He’s as strong as an ox. He’s a big body. Matt Smith got some playing time last year. He’s going to get the role as the right tackle for us. Marcus Scott, our center, took over when Layne Ward went down midway through the year, so he has a ton of playing time. Our left guard, Kaydin McCartney, was our right guard last year and started as a true freshman, and he’s another kid who is as strong as an ox. Antonio Parker started at left tackle for us last year. We’ve only got one senior on the line, and the rest are juniors and sophomores. That shows what we played with our youth last year. They were sophomores and freshmen basically. All these guys are a year older with tons of playing time. Everyone of our kids from the backfield up to the line have just been eating up the weights and getting stronger.”
If there is an issue Ellis and the Pirates will have to overcome, it’s lack of depth on the defensive side of the ball — especially along the line.
“We’re low on numbers, so we’re going to have to play some ironman football,” Ellis said. “You have Drake Cowart, Antonio Parker and Kaydin McCartney on the line, and we have a good rotation with Marcus Scott and Maden Smith.”
On the other hand, the linebacking corps will return three of the four LBs who played last season.
“We have three of the four back for us — Jagger Moore, Bladin Mc-Cartney and Devon Mannon,” Ellis said. “We lost a linebacker, but we have two guys who have stepped into that spot — Duane Hunt and Cole Brooksher. Those (two) guys give us a lot of speed.”
The defensive backfield also is pretty much the same members as 2023.
“We’re moving Ayden Cox to our safety position,” Ellis said. “Ayden is the smartest guy on the field. He’ll make us right on the back end. Tate (Brooksher) is back there at another safety position. At our corners, we will have Byron McDuffie and Keeton Rowe. Those guys started for us last year.”
Since the majority of the team from last campaign are back, it means that the majority of the offensive and defensive units are back. Thanks to a good group of freshmen, those upperclassmen will get a few plays off to rest.
“We really have got starters all the way around, and again we’re just as young on the defense as on the offense,” Ellis said. “You can’t take anything away from experience. You can do all the practice reps you want, but it’s not game speed. When they’re in there getting the reps, it’s fun to see. We’ve got some freshmen guys coming up. They’re younger right now, but we don’t have any problem with throwing those guys in there for a couple of plays to relieve our guys (starters) who are needing a break. We have the Cunningham twins, Weston and Trenton. (Junior) Gabe Hefley has had a great off-season.”
Editor’s Note: Look for more season-preview stories on the local fall high school teams in next week’s edition.
