Pine missed out on three red zone chances in a 20-19 loss to Pearl River in the season opener on the road last Friday night.
“I thought we played a good game, but we didn’t finish. We didn’t put them away,” Pine coach Bradley Seal said. “We let them hang around and it came back to bite us in the end. I think the main problem was that we had the ball in the red zone three times and didn’t score.”
Pine was leading 19-7 before halftime with a chance to make it a three-score game. The Raiders had the ball on Pearl River’s 10-yard line, but the clock ran out. Pine still had a 12-point lead at the break.
Midway through the third quarter, the Rebels drew closer with a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 19-14.
Pearl River took the lead with about nine minutes remaining in the final period on a 55-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed and Pearl River was in front 20-19.
Pine had the ball at Pearl River’s 5 at the five-minute mark, but fumbled and the Rebels recovered.
Pine’s defense forced Pearl River to punt. The Raiders took over at the 40 and drove to Pearl River’s 15. A penalty backed Pine up to the 25 before the Raiders turned it over on downs with about a minute to go, as the Raiders ended up losing a close one.
Pine took the lead on the third play of the game when Jarwin Jordan ran 67 yards for the touchdown. Colton Terrell’s extra point was good, giving the Raiders a 7-0 lead.
Late in the opening period, Joey Seal connected with Adarrius Berry on a 15-yard touchdown pass. A low snap led to the extra point being blocked, but the Raiders were in front by 13.
Pearl River got on the board early in the second quarter on a 35-yard scoring run and it was a 13-7 lead for Pine after the extra point.
Berry capped off the ensuing drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked, but Pine was still up 19-7.
The Rebels ended up scoring 13 unanswered points in the second half, as Pine lost the opener, 20-19.
Berry finished with 103 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown for Pine. He also caught three passes for 27 yards and a score.
Jordan had 89 yards on five carries and a touchdown while catching a pass for 10.
Seal had six carries for 82 yards on the ground and finished 11-for-19 through the air for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Lowell Pittman logged three catches for 24 yards while Kaz Warren caught three passes for 31 yards and Chris Gordon had a reception for 15.
Pine recorded 402 yards of total offense to Pearl River’s 250.
Defensively, Jordan and Warren each recovered a fumble.
Pine is back in action Friday, Sept. 11 with a road game against Varnado. The Wildcats defeated St. Patrick of Biloxi, Miss., 34-3.