It wasn't pretty and it was anything but easy, but the Pirates will certainly take the end result.
West Side, ranked third in 3A, denied No. 1 Aberdeen on a pair of two-point conversion runs and that ultimately was the difference as the Pirates pulled out a hard-fought 14-12 victory in a 3A Fifth District football game on Friday evening at Lyle S. Henderson Field in Dayton.
With the win, the Pirates (6-1, 3-1) pulled into a three-way tie with the Tigers (6-1, 3-1) and Declo (7-1, 3-1) atop the district standings with one game remaining. All three programs -- the top three ranked teams in 3A -- will be heavy favorites in their regular season and district finales next week.
"It's a big win," WS head coach Tyson Moser said. "We just have such a high standard. If we don't win by a large margin, we're disappointed. Even when we're playing the No. 1 team in the state, we want to win and we want to win big. But, yeah, really looking at it, we beat the No. 1 team, undefeated, so even if it was ugly, it's still a big win."
West Side was able to prevail despite getting dominated in the time of possession battle. The Tigers were able to run 55 plays to the Pirates' 31. The hosts employed a bend-but-don't-break style of defense at times, but were still able to hold Aberdeen to its second-lowest point tally of the season.
"It's one of those frustrating games where you just feel like you can't get off the field, you can't get your defense off the field," Moser said. "It seemed like no matter what they did, we couldn't stop them from getting five or six yards every time they ran the ball. And then, for whatever reason, we were able to buckle down and get the stops in the red zone or the two-point conversions. But, yeah, I'm proud of the defense for making enough plays to win, but, I mean, we just barely made enough plays to win."
The Pirates didn't have star everything player Crew Sage in their 6-0 loss to Declo on Sept. 27, but No. 18 was the difference-maker on his team's second showdown against a fellow 3A power. Sage accounted for both West Side touchdowns, plus picked off an Aberdeen pass in the end zone and came up with a huge tackle for loss on a fourth-down run by the visitors in the early going.
The senior gave the Pirates a 7-0 first-quarter lead when he busted off a 50-yard scoring scamper straight up the middle. Sage struck again in the final minute of the second quarter when he snared a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jaden Fuller. No. 18 finished with 90 yards on 15 carries, caught two passes for 29 yards, came through with an explosive punt return in the second quarter and punted well throughout the evening.
"Yeah, he did a great job," Moser said of the returning first-team all-state selection. "We just need to get some more help in other places. I mean, his brother, Drake, did a good job, too, and part of it was the offense just never really got into any kind of rhythm, it didn't feel like. And it seems like every time we did something good, we got a penalty. But, yeah, Crew did a great job offensively and defensively, and he was the best player on the field. But we need to find other ways and other weapons, too."
In addition to Sage, the Pirates also got an INT from Trayce Stone and a massive forced fumble from Drake Sage.
West Side struggled at times to contain Aberdeen quarterback Guadalupe Ortiz, who rushed for 115 yards and found Ronaldo Serna behind the secondary for a 51-yard scoring strike. Ortiz found paydirt from 20 yards out with 2:03 remaining in the final quarter to give his team a chance to pull even. However, the Pirates were able to string Ortiz out on the ensuing two-point conversion run and stop him well short of the goal line. Aberdeen was unsuccessful on the ensuing on-side kick attempt, Sage picked up a first down with his feet and West Side was able to slam the door in victory formation.
The visitors churned out 258 yards on the ground and finished with 323 yards of total offense. The Pirates, who will host Malad next Friday, were limited to 177 total yards -- 128 on 23 rushing attempts and 49 on 3 of 8 passing.
It didn't matter, though, because the defending state champions still found a way to emerge victorious.