Once again, the Tigers were unable to stop a potent offense from running up the score.

The Tigers lost to the Poteet Pirates 46-28 on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. This brings their record to 2-5 on the season as they remain winless in district play.

Familiar shades of slow starts in previous weeks seemed to show early as senior Chris Sutton muffed a punt that gave the Pirates the ball with prime field position. A few plays later, running back Seth McGowan punched it in from four yards out. He then converted the ensuing two-point conversion to give the Pirates an 8-0 lead.

The Tiger offense was quick to respond as senior quarterback Coltin Clack would find senior wide receiver Myles Washington for a 32-yard touchdown. This didn’t matter to the Poteet offense who capitalized on their next drive as quarterback Dalton Dale connected with wide receiver Tristan Golightly for a 38-yard score.

A Tiger three-and-out saw the Pirates execute a big play as Dale found Golightly for a 61-yard pitch and catch before McGowan secures his second score of the night on a 1-yard run. The Tigers then struggled to move the ball as a promising drive was halted by costly penalties and a failed fourth down conversion.

The Pirates continued their aerial attack later in the quarter as Dale hit wide receiver Cam Lampkin for 52 yards and yet another touchdown. Kicker Dylan Brown nailed a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the half to make the score 32-7.

The third quarter saw little change from the results of the first half. After a Tiger punt, Dale completed a pass to wide receiver Devon Martin for an 18-yard score to increase the Pirate lead to 39-7.

The next two plays perhaps summed up the Tigers’ season to this point as after senior wide receiver Mason Jones scored a 99-yard kick return touchdown, they could not catch a break as Pirate wide receiver Ethan Davila ran back the next kickoff 80 yards to keep the lead at 32.

The fourth quarter saw both teams trot out backup players to give them meaningful playing time as the game winded down. The Tigers would take advantage of this as senior running back Collius Zachary scored on a nine-yard run to dent the Pirate lead. Junior quarterback Connor Allen saw some late action and would punch it in from three yards out for the final touchdown of the game as the score finished at 46-28.

“We started off a bit slow,” Washington said. “We came back out with a bunch of effort, and we finished the game off the way we should have started.”

The Tiger offense struggled to find a rhythm and had many costly false start penalties that ruined various potentially successful drives. Clack and Washington maintained their recent connection, but too much inconsistency proved to be enough to stall offensive success.

“We just need to execute a little better,” senior running back Chris Sutton said. “Our morale won’t be affected at all by this game. We have all been through ups and downs, but I feel like we know how to bounce back.”

The Tiger defense seemed to improve their rush defense, but that sacrifice left them vulnerable through the air. The combination of McGowan running the ball effectively and Dale lobbing it up to his fellow playmakers haunted a unit that is letting up approximately 45 points per game.

“We have a really good running back in Seth McGowan,” Poteet coach Kody Groves said. “[Texas High] tried to cram the box, and once they put everybody in there, it just allowed man-to-man coverage, and we had an opportunity to throw it to the receivers.”

This win maintains the Pirates’ undefeated district record as they improved to 5-1 on the season. They look to ride the momentum from this win to a potential district title.

“I’m assuming we’ll be district champions,” Dale said. “We got to worry about John Tyler right now, but we will put it on them as well.”

Clack completed 14 of 25 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Chris Sutton had 12 carries for 79 yards. Washington had five catches for 111 yards and a score.

Dale completed eight of 15 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. McGowan had 15 carries for 130 yards and two scores. Golightly had two catches for 99 yards and a touchdown while Lampkin had three catches for 86 yards and a score of his own.

The Tigers prepare to travel next week to face the Sherman Bearcats on Friday night at 7 p.m.