Pirates seek 3-0 start against Mounds tonight at home

The Gore Pirates will try to remain undefeated on this young season as they welcome the Mounds Golden Eagles to town at 7 tonight.

The Pirates (2-0) defeated Keys (Park Hill) 30-7 in their road opener last Friday night.

“We’re excited about it,” Gore coach Brandon Ellis said. “It’s always good when you win, especially on the road. Keys (Park Hill) was big and physical. Our guys hung in there. Our defense played their tails off. Our offense took a little bit to get going, but that’s why you have all three phases of the game — special teams, defense and offense. They (defensive unit) kept us in the ball game, and we had a chance to score (on offense). We still have to clean some stuff up. We’re not where we need to be right now. We left 21 points on the field, but we’re getting there.”

The Golden Eagles (1-0) won their season opener last Friday night, beating Gore’s District A-8 foe Porter Consolidated 28–22.

“For the coaching staff, it’s a bit of the unknown,” Ellis said. “This is going to be our first get-go. Of course, the kids know them (after beating them 55-21 last year in Mounds). Watching them on film, They do some good stuff. They’re decent up front. The quarterback is a good athlete. They have a big, tall receiver. Their running back is a good athlete. He’s a shifty guy.”

The Pirates will need to play a sound football game in all facets.

“We will still need to play assignment football,” Ellis said. “We can’t have turnovers. We have to force turnovers. We need to do the little things right. That’s what we really stressed this week in practice.”

The Pirates will enter tonight’s game healthy.

“Everybody is healthy, which is a positive,” Ellis said. “It’s always good to be coming out healthy after two games. We’re at full strength right now going into (tonight).”