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Sports

Pirates upend Mission football with a second quarter rally

Drake's receiver MacAusland shines in the victory.

Drake 25, Mission (SF) 6

In front of their home fans, Drake turned Mission's miscues into points as they coasted to an easy non-conference victory.

The Pirates were able to capitalized on four costly Bear turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) in the final five minutes of the first half.

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"We got out to the lead quickly," said coach Dan Kenilvort of his team's 19-point end of the first half barrage. "Then we turned to our running game."

Drake displayed a quick strike offense, turning a late second quarter six-point deficit into a 13-point advantage prior to the half.

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The rally was led by receiver Ross MacAusland and quarterback Andrew Brown, who connected on touchdown passes of 13 and 41 yards.

"Ross made something out of really nothing. He caught a couple short passes and broke tackles," said coach Kenilvort.

Drake also provided the home fan with some fireworks. The Pirates had the ball on the Bear's 41 yard line with only two seconds remaining in the half and 13-6 lead.

"On the last play of the half we called a corner [route] with maximum protection," exclaimed Kenilvort, grinning. "Andrew threw it as far as he could and Ross ran as fast as he could."

MacAusland hauled in the perfectly thrown spiral over his shoulder, in the corner of the end zone, for the dramatic touchdown. The stands and bench erupted and coaches had to keep players from running on the field to celebrate, as they still needed to attempt the extra point.

After the Bears late first half collapse, coach Joe Albano could be heard screaming at his team during halftime trying to get them motivated. But the 41-yard bomb seemed to deflate Mission and they were never able to mount a comeback.

"Our offense did not come out strong, and then we started clicking," said MacAusland. "Passing is such a crucial part of our offense and it was important to get that going."

MacAusland entered the game leading the MCAL in receiving with five catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added to that total against Mission, with four grabs for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Noah Mitchell also ran hard with 14 carries for 51 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The defense was stout, stopping the run and putting a major wrench in the Bears passing attack. Defensive back Steven Kramer was around the ball all afternoon and recorded eight tackles and an interception. Linebacker Jeremy Steele had some extremely hard hits and recorded eight tackles.

Notable: The Pirates celebrated running back Matt Kuhr's 17th birthday in style with the victory. Kuhr ran for 34 yards on the game.

Up Next: Drake plays an MCAL conference match at Redwood next Saturday.

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