MT 8-29-24

10A —The Marion Tribune, Thursday, August 29, 2024 Pirates lose season opener to Oliver Springs SHANE SHOEMAKER Writer S outh Pittsburg (0-1) opened its 2024 season on the road facing Oliver Springs (1- 0). Unlike their previous two meetings against the Bobcats in the past year—once in last year’s season opener, the other in the TSSAA semi fi nals—the Pirates su ff ered a 27-7 defeat. The loss for last year’s 1A state champions was their fi rst in the regular season in 16 games, with their last coming on Sept. 9, 2022, against Mur- phy. The Bobcats took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard run with under four minutes to go in the fi rst quarter and never looked back. They added 10 more points o ff a 38-yard fi eld goal and a 71- yard touchdown pass to take a 17-0 lead into halftime, shut- ting out the Pirates. Midway through the third quarter, the Pirates fi nally made their one and only score of the evening on a JaMychal Buckner 5-yard run to cut the lead to 10. The Bobcats matched the Pirates with sev- en of their own, this time on a 31-yard pass play. They scored three more points in the fourth quarter. Buckner rushed 17 times for 47 yards and one score. He also made an interception on defense. New starting quar- terback, sophomore Dayon Cooper, led the team in rush- ing with 75 yards on 16 carries. However, the Pirates struggled mightily on o ff ense, netting just 117 yards of total o ff ense with only fi ve passing yards on three completions. Mistakes undoubtedly played a part in the Pirates’ opening loss. They fumbled the ball four times, losing two, and racked up 106 yards in penal- ties. Defensively, the Pirates al- lowed the Bobcats 271 yards of total o ff ense, forcing one fum- ble (not recovered) and one in- terception. The Pirates make their home debut of the 2024 season this Friday against 5A Franklin Co. (0-1) with kicko ff at 7 p.m. –Photos courtesy of Misty Rollins