Pittsburg Ends Panthers' Season

ROYSE CITY — Three fumble recoveries led to two touchdowns and a field goal for the Pittsburg Pirates as they cruised to a 53-13 victory over the Quinlan Ford Panthers in a Class 3A area playoff game Friday night.

Things started off well enough for the Panthers with Al Balliette breaking down the right sideline for an 80-yard run on Quinlan's opening drive. That set up quarterback Kyle Stone's 2-yard touchdown run two plays later.

Manuel Castilleja added the extra point to give the Panthers a quick 7-0 lead with 9:44 left in the first quarter. After that, though, a steady rain — precipitation and Pittsburg's offense — would make a long, difficult evening for head coach Derek Alford's squad.

Pirate quarterback Mitch Manley had great success with the passing game, especially when going to wide receiver Chris Brown. Those two hooked up for the first Pittsburg touchdown on an 8-yard play with 5:17 left in the first quarter. Saul Martinez kicked the extra point to tie it at 7.

When it wasn't Manley doing damage through the air, it was Pirate running back Ted Burns chewing up the yards on carries. Burns scored three touchdowns in the first half, including a 72-yard journey that put the Pirates firmly in control late in the second quarter at 32-7.

Before that, though, the Panthers hurt their chances of staying close with two costly turnovers on fumbles, one that led to a 32-yard field goal by Martinez and another on the ensuing kickoff, giving Pittsburg the ball at the Panther 7.

Burns took it in from there on the second play of the possession and Andy Dube converted a fumbled extra-point snap into a two-point pass play to Koe Wetzel to make it 25-7 at that point.

Quinlan suffered another turnover on a kickoff return in the third quarter after Pittsburg had just scored on a Manley-to-Brown 13-yard pass. Burns cashed in from the Quinlan 9 and Cesar Chavez booted the PAT to essentially put the game out of reach at 45-7.

The Panthers did answer on offense with a 67-yard drive capped by Kyle Stone's 1-yard run after a 23-yard pass to Tyler McBride, who made a great leaping catch. The two-point pass attempt failed.

Backup running back Maurice Green scored on a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter, followed by the extra point by Martinez, to close out the scoring.

See Friday's Quinlan-Tawakoni News for a full recap of the game and the Panthers' season.