Pittsburg Pirates
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Senior Ted Burns receives the "Built Ford Tough Award" at Friday's Pep Rally.
Pittsburg High School tailback Ted Burns was honored Friday as the Class 3A Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Week for week six of the season.
The Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Week program honors one student-athlete in six of the state's athletic classifications every week during the high school football regular season for his accomplishments on and off the field.
- Burns carried 29 times for 243 yards and scored four touchdowns (65, 40, 10 and 6 yards) and also caught two passes for 33 yards in the Pirates' 38-13 win over Atlanta.
Game 10
Pirates are District Champions over Pleasant Grove 42-25
PITTSBURG — Pittsburg wrapped up a perfect run through District 16-3A. Ted Burns made sure of that.
Burns scored five touchdowns, rushed for 390 yards and the Pirates secured a 42-25 win Friday over Pleasant Grove at Pirate Stadium. The Hawks wrapped up a playoff berth despite the loss as Liberty-Eylau claimed a 48-18 win over New Boston.
The Pirates (9-1, 5-0) scored on all but one possession in the second half, not counting the final drive when time ran out as they reached the Pleasant Grove red zone. Mitch Manley raced for a 25-yard TD with 2:37 left for Pitt's final touchdown.
Pittsburg finished with 550 yards of total offense, and Pleasant Grove had 309.
The Hawks scored twice in the final 1:55 of the first half to knot the score entering intermission. Sandwiched between the pair of Graves' rushing TDs was Burns' 71-yard romp down the left sideline on a direct snap.
Burns had 123 yards rushing and both Pirate scores in the half.
| Score by QUARTERS | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | Final |
| Pittsburg (9-1) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | - | 42 |
| Pleasant Grove (7-3) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 8 | - | 25 |
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Game 9
The Pirates made the playoffs and remained undefeated in District Friday night by beating the Mount Vernon Tigers 45-17. The Tigers kept the game close in the first half before the Pirates ran away with the game in the second, led behind quarterback Mitch Manley with 234 yards passing and a touchdown. The undefeated Pirates will take on the 3-1 Pleasant Grove Hawks this Friday night in Pittsburg for the District championship title.
The Pirates started out with having the first possession of the game. With incomplete passes and a muddy running game, the Pirates were forced to punt.
The Mount Vernon Tigers, led behind quarterback Kellan Carrell, made their way inside the Pirate red-zone after a 34-yard fake punt. The power behind the Pirate defense that we have seen all season long stopped the Tigers on fourth down and forced them to try for the field goal attempt.
The Tigers missed the 34-yard field goal but a penalty gave them the second attempt, which was good.
Manley stuck with Chris Brown on the Pirates’ next drive as Brown completed passes of 7, 24, and 38-yards to bring the Pirates into scoring territory. Manley kept the ball for a 4-yard gain and on the next play Ted Burns ran in the remaining 3 yards to score for the Pirates after the 76-yard drive. The extra point was good by Saul Martinez and the Pirates led 7-3 in the first quarter.
The Pirates forced the Tigers to punt on their next drive after three and out. The Pirates found the red-zone again where Burns scored off of a 15-yard run to bring the score in favor of the Pirates 14-3.
The Tigers got a break on the kickoff as Keener caught the ball 1 yard deep inside his own end zone and took it 101 yards for a Mount Vernon touchdown. The kickoff return put the Tigers back in the game with the score 14-10 in favor of the Pirates.
On the Pirates’ next drive Burns came alive as he broke free and took the ball 78 yards for a touchdown. The Pirates failed on the 2-point conversion and led 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second the Tigers got another break as they recovered the ball from a muffed punt at the 17-yard line. Bam Ramirez found the end zone with a 17-yard run to bring the Tigers within 3 points, 20-17.
The Pirates got the ball one more time before the half. The Tigers held the Pirates in their own red-zone. Martinez’s field goal was good and the Pirates led 23-17.
The Tigers got another chance before halftime to put points on the board. With 55 seconds left in the second quarter the Pirates intercepted the ball in the end zone to keep the Tigers from scoring.
Mount Vernon had the ball to start the second half of the game. Carrell was forced out of the pocket and down the sideline. There he had the ball stripped away where Nadell Richardson for Pittsburg picked up the ball and ran it in for a Pirate touchdown. The Pirates went for 2 but were unsuccessful and the Pirates led 29-17
After the Tigers were forced to punt the Pirates took control of the game. On third down Manley took a quarterback keeper for 63 yards and a diving touchdown. The Pirates could not make the extra point again and led 35-17.
The Pirates were not done as in the fourth quarter Manley connected with Andy Dube for a 53-yard touchdown pass. The PAT by Martinez was good and the Pirates led 42-17. Martinez finished the game with a 32-yard field goal to bring the final score in favor of Pittsburg 45-17.
Burns ran 20 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers and Brown picked up five receptions for 107 yards in the Pirate win. The Pirates remain undefeated in District as they go into Friday night’s upcoming game against the Pleasant Grove Hawks.
The Pirates and Hawks will meet in a big game for both teams Friday night at Pirate Stadium. If the Pirates win they will be undefeated District champions and take first place going into the playoffs. If the Hawks win they will share part of the District championship along with the winner between New Boston and Liberty-Eylau.
Other games around District 16-AAA saw Liberty-Eylau beating Atlanta 21-0 and Pleasant Grove defeating New Boston 55-34.
The Pirates have averaged 37 points in District play while allowing 15 points. The only loss for the Pirates was the 33-43 defeat against the 4A Lindale Eagles. Smoaky.com ranks the Pittsburg Pirates third in East Texas for class 3A behind the Gilmer Buckeyes and Carthage Bulldogs. Maxpreps.com ranks the Pirates 13th in the state for class 3A.
The Hawks have averaged 40 points in District while allowing opponents 30 points. The Hawks have lost to Ashdown, Ark. 42-49 and Liberty-Eylau 14-34. Smoaky.com ranks the Pleasant Grove Hawks 8th in East Texas and MaxPreps ranks the Hawks 25th in the state.
The 8-1 Pittsburg Pirates will host the 7-2 Pleasant Grove Hawks for the District 16-AAA Championship at Pirate Stadium Friday. Senior night festivities will start at 7 with the game starting at 7:30.
