Zach Ortiz

The Kirkwood Pioneers opened their varsity football season with a crowd-pleasing 38-10 victory over the Pattonville Pirates last Friday night, Aug. 24.

Kirkwood started off the game on offense, and they were eventually forced to punt, giving possession to the Pirates. After forcing Pattonville to punt on their very own drive, Kirkwood gained possession.

Senior starting quarterback Jordan Bishop opened up the scoring with a 39 yard run for the Pioneer’s first score of the regular season.

“It was exciting,” Bishop said. “We didn’t score on the first drive but to come out and make a big play really got the momentum going for us.”

After senior kicker Andrew Phillips kicked the extra point, the Pioneers then had a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, and they would never look back.

Senior running back Ramon Alton rushed for the Pioneers next touchdown, a 26 yard run. He also scored another touchdown later in the game. Alton finished with 12 carries and a total of 87 yards for the game.

With a 18 yard pass from Jordan Bishop to Clyde Benson, the Pioneers then had a 28-3 lead going into halftime.

“I had plenty of time to throw the ball thanks to the offensive line,” Bishop said. “They made big holes for me to run through.”

Phillips kicked a 29 yard field goal in the third quarter, and junior running back Jordan Brown added with a rushing touchdown of his own. The Pioneers finished with 43 rushing attempts and a total of 271 rushing yards on the night.

When the clock reached zero in the fourth quarter Kirkwood had clinched their first victory of the season. The Pioneers defense held Pattonville to just one touchdown and one field goal.

“We let up a couple big plays,” Edward Richey, wide receiver, safety and senior, said. “But we only let up one touchdown. So overall it was a pretty solid defensive game.”

Head coach Matt Irvin describes the game as a good way to see what his team should work on in the future.

“I think there are things we want to work on,” Irvin said. “We’re glad to win. Glad to have a good margin of victory. But it gave us some things to work on for the rest of the season.”

The #1 ranked varsity Pioneers (according to STLhighschoolSPORTS.com) will face off against #10 Hazelwood East (1-0) Sunday Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. in East St. Louis. The game will be broadcasted on tape delay on Fox Sports Midwest on Monday, Sept. 3 at 10:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 7 at noon and Thursday, Sept. 20 at 11 p.m.