The Gore Pirates went 6-5 last year and were knocked out by the eventual state champion Woodland Cougars in the opening round of the Class A, Division II playoffs.
The good news is the majority of last year’s team are back now, with most of those players seniors.
“It’s a brand new set of kids, as far as seniors taking the role for their last go-round,” Gore coach Brandon Ellis said. “They’re the last of that (bunch of players) from that state title game team, so they’re really taking ownership of that team. We’ve got some really good leadership. We have some guys who are taking it to another level, which is awesome for us. It’s also very promising for us. We have guys who have had tons of playing time. We return seven starters on both sides of the ball. All those guys are a year matured now. They’re a year older, faster ad stronger. They’re ready to get after it. We really like what we’ve seen so far through spring ball, (Summer Pride) camp and the past days in fall ball (football practices that have occurred since Aug. 11).”
For the fourth straight, and final, season, senior Tate Brooksher will be the starting quarterback.
Two of the key running backs are back in Devon Mannon and Bladin McCartney.
However, don’t be surprised this season with a three-running back package, thanks to moving Kaydin Mc-Cartney from being a lineman to a running back.
The Pirates are very strong when it comes to their receivers.
“We’re going to use a lot of tight-end sets,” Ellis said. “They’re be times when we will spread it out where we will have a true wide receiver and a true slot receiver. When we’re spread out like that, Cole (Brooksher) is one of our guys, who is very athletic — he’s a slasher-type of runner. He’s another kid who is stronger than an ox. He has great hands.”
Also figuring prominently when it comes to the passing game are twins Trenton and Weston Cunningham.
Gore will have two players at tight end — Brayden Ellis and Treydan Daugherty.
The Pirates’ offensive line is comprised of a lot of seasoned veterans — Zach Comer, Antonio Parker, Marcus Scott and Maden Smith — with Luke Wisdom being the fifth lineman.
Most of these players are being counted upon to lead the way along with Pirates’ defensive line.
The Pirates’ linebackers may be the team’s strength, thanks to Comer, Mannon and Blaydin McCartney.
Just as the Cunningham twins will figure prominently when it comes to Gore’s passing game, they also will be counted upon to stop the opposition’s passing game — along with other veterans like Tate Brooksher, Cole Brooksher and McKennon McElhaney.
The Pirates had their only preseason scrim-mage last Friday night at Hartshorne with Muldrow in preparations for the 2025 season opener, which will be a Zero Week game against the Wilburton Diggers at 7 p.m. this Friday at K.G. Horn Stadium.
Ellis was pleased with what he saw.
“I thought we looked good,” Ellis said. “We did wanted we wanted to offensively. We had some big stops and got some turnovers (on defense). Our special teams looked good. Surprisingly, I liked what I saw. The main thing is we came out healthy, which was our No. 1 goal.”
Blaydin McCartney scored on a 7-yard touchdown run and Comer kicked the extra point, while Mannon scored on a 99-yard fumble recovery return on defense during the live quarters.
Ellis said the Pirates look good heading into this Friday night’s season opener.
“We’re going to have to fine tune some things,” he said. “That’s what scrimmages are for. Everything gets ramped up in rush mode since play (the season) opener this week.”
Here are the members of the 2025 Gore Pirates football team. Front row, from left — Tate Brooksher, James Brasuell, McKennon McElhaney, Devon Mannon, Zacke Cheatwood, Cole Brooksher, Bladin McCartney and Weston Cunningham. Middle row — Trenton Cunningham, Brayden Ellis, Treydan Daugherty, Zach Comer, Jaxon Denton, Maden Smith, Seth Current and Marcus Scott. Back row — Coaches Jake Constant and Zane Rose, Issac Smith, Hayden McCraw, Antonio Parker, Alex Hoog, coach Brandon Ellis, Dakota Marsh, Luke Wisdom, Kaden West, Kaydin McCartney, coach Ethan Hutson and manager Grant Davis.
