WEWOKA — The Gore Pirates suffered a 34-24 road District AII3 loss to the host Wewoka Tigers last Thursday night.
After the Tigers (5-2 overall, 3-1 in district play) took a 8-0 lead after a quarter, the Pirates (3-4, 2-2) got two field goals by Nick Edlund in the second period — a 25-yarder and a 17-yarder. The Pirates still trailed 14-6 at halftime.
The game saw both teams step it up a notch as they combined for 32 points in the third quarter, with the Pirates outscoring the Tigers 18-14.
The Pirates got three touchdowns, two of them thanks to the arm of senior quarterback Tate Brooksher, who hit Eland on a 70-yard TD pass and a 25-yard touchdown pass to brother Cole Brooksher.
Gore’s third TD came on Devon Mannon’s 46-yard touchdown run. However, all three two-point conversion attempts after the three TDs were unsuccessful, keeping Wewoka ahead 28-24 going into the final period.
The Tigers got the game’s lone score in the fourth quarter for the 10-point victory.
Gore coach Brandon Ellis said miscues the Pirates made in Thursday night’s game hurt them.
“We just needed to convert (those twopoint conversions),” Ellis said. “There were other things. We gave up a punt return for a touchdown. We missed a field goal early in the first quarter. That was another three points (missed). We just kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, but the kids played really hard. I was proud of them.”
For the game, Mannon rushed for 118 yards and scored a touchdown, while Zach Comer rushed for 102 yards. Tate Brooksher had 149 yards passing and two touchdowns.
The Pirates will play a crucial road district game against the Liberty Tigers (4-3, 2-2), who lost 62-7 to No. 1 Talihina last Thursday night, at 7 p.m. this Friday.
••• To Get There — Take Oklahoma State Highway 100 west to Interstate 40. Take I-40 to the Muskogee Turnpike. Take the Muskogee Turnpike west to the Creek Turnpike. Take the Creek Turnpike west to U.S. 75. Take U.S. 75 south to West 201st Street South (sign saying Liberty Mounds is to the right). Turn right (east) on West 201st Street South to Liberty High School.
