By Devin Smith

The final score didn’t tell the entire story Friday night when the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots fell to the Hooper Academy Colts 37-28.

The Patriots fell behind early to what have become routine busts in coverage and big plays by the opposing offense, including a 46-yard pass on the opening play of the game by Hooper.

The methodical offense of the Colts proved to be a difficult challenge for Pike, allowing 412 yards of total offense on the day.

Head coach Gene Allen was pleased with the way his team fought, especially after going down 30-6 at the half.

“I was proud of the way we played, especially in the second half,” said Allen. “In the first half we did what we’ve been doing all year, giving up big plays with the 51-yard touchdown run and the late pick that set up another score at the half. You take away those plays and we did pretty good defensively.”

The lone first half score for the Patriots came with just a minute to go in the second, but the Colts quickly struck back as time expired with another touchdown of their own.

The second half was a much different story for Pike, which was assisted by the Colts using a lot of second string players to get some experience.

A quarterback change from Brian Adams,to Drew Starling late in the third also sparked the offense, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth to close the gap.

“The big thing was that we prevented the big play from happening,” said Adams. “We did the same things we were doing in the first half, we had some kids that were banged up that played in the second half and that’s all I can ask of them.”

Now sitting at 1-7 on the year the Patriots will go on the road for the final two games of the season playing for pride and looking to build on next year.

“The result tonight isn’t what we wanted,” said Allen. “They left it all on the field and that’s all I can ever ask from them. It’s been a long year, it hasn’t been what we wanted when we started but we have put forth a great effort.”