Pittsburg’s ground game gashes McClymonds in a Pirates win

PITTSBURG – Elijah Bow never seemed to “go off,” but he never seemed to have a bad carry, either.

In other words, Bow was consistently excellent in Pittsburg’s 39-21 win over McClymonds. Across 33 carries, the sophomore ran for 183 yards and a touchdown.

While there were few highlight-reel runs that left a mass of defenders strewn across the turf, the halfback did have a large collection of chain-moving bursts that kept Pittsburg’s offense on the field. The Pirates ran for 204 yards on the ground.

“We committed to the run, and during our bye week we hammered our line to get back to the basics,” Pittsburg coach Victor Galli said. “It seemed to work tonight, and it wasn’t a work of art but we were able to put some good drives together.”

The visitors got off to as great a start as they could have hoped for in the first quarter. McClymonds’ player of the year candidate Malik Richardson took down fellow midseason candidate Jaden Rashada on Pittsburg’s first offensive snap for a sack and then his teammate took down the quarterback for another loss and forced a punt.

Redmani Albert took over on the punt, returning the ball down the sideline and slipping out of a tackle or two for an early 7-0 McClymonds lead. It looked to be a repeat of Pittsburg’s losing performance two weeks ago against Folsom, where blocking and good special teams seemed optional. But instead of repeating history, the Pirates made adjustments.

They put the game in sophomore Bow’s hands, giving him 20 carries in the first half. Bow rewarded Galli’s trust with 92 first-half yards and a touchdown, and slowed down McClymonds’ fearsome pass-rush.

Rashada, a Miami commit, provided an aerial threat when he was given better protection, throwing to receivers like Rashid Williams and Zack Card in the short game to spread out the Warriors.

“Having all these weapons like Rashid Williams and me and Keynan, we’re stacked over here,” receiver Khai Taylor said. “We play football and we have fun.”

Rashada twice connected with the 6-2 senior Taylor for touchdowns, the first being an 11-yard fade, and the second being a 35-yard tackle-breaking screen pass.

McClymonds’ offense struggled to get going, but halfback Jaivian Thomas gave them a momentary jolt with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

Thomas took the handoff, drifted left, high-stepped away from a few would-be Pirate tacklers, and scored a 63-yard touchdown. McClymonds went into halftime down 22-14 but still in the game despite the inconsistency in all phases of the game, and a deficit in time of possession while Bow chewed up the clock with short but consistent gains.

“We had a chance, we just shot ourselves in the foot,” McClymonds coach Michael Peters said. “But we’re rebuilding and we’re young.”

Tony Hamilton picked Rashada off twice in the second half to give McClymonds short fields. After one such pick, McClymonds rolled out Ferrari Miller as a quarterback. The athletic runner had a 20-yard run that led to a short Thomas score from three yards out. McClymonds trailed 22-21, but could not get the stop it needed.

Rashada and Bow worked their way downfield as the third quarter came to a close, and Budha Boyd Jr. finished the drive with a 48-yard touchdown reception. In the fourth quarter, McClymonds had a chance to take the lead when it had the ball in the red zone. A fumble ended their hopes of scoring and gave the ball back to Pittsburg.

McClymonds had previously racked up six sacks, with Rickari Campbell and Greg Kenny III leading the way, and forced Pittsburg into a few iffy throws. To combat the pass rush, Pittsburg kept the ball on the ground during their final touchdown drive. After Bow carried the ball for most of the 65-yard drive, teammate Cameron Clanton capped it off with a short touchdown run.

Pittsburg added another field goal to finish the scoring and looks ahead to its game against Liberty next Friday. McClymonds will try to regroup back in Oakland against a quality San Ramon Valley team.

“We had some letdowns at the wrong time, but I’m happy with how my guys played,” Peters said. “They fought, and that’s all I can ask for.”