A long, disappointing season came to a close for Pike Liberal Arts at DeWight Ward Field as Ashford Academy handed the Patriots a 44-0 homecoming loss.

Pike finishes the season 1-9, its worst since an 0-10 year in 1990.

Despite the lackluster season, head coach Wayne Grant said this year’s group of players will be remembered by their successors.

“They care about the game. We just didn’t have enough to answer what our opponents had to offer,” he said. “I’m proud of all the players that participated in our program. Without them, our program would have died. Two years from now people will realize just how important this group was.”

The Patriots suffered numerous unfortunate and costly injuries and fielded a team most weeks with just 14 players.

“It says a lot about their character to keep having to go through this kind of thing, it’s tough on your body, tough on your mind to do that,” Grant said. “They’ve experienced a great amount of emotion and physical distress. People who haven’t been through something like that don’t know what it’s like or how it feels.”

Grant feels that the players that stuck with the program all year will reap the rewards of their hard work year down the road.

“They learned a lot about life, it’s going to be tough on them,” Grant said. “They learned a lot about hard situations and having to deal with coming back and putting you nose to the grind rock and be successful again.”

The Patriots lone victory came in Week 3 with a 32-8 decision over Lyman Ward on Sept. 7.