Pender loses shootout to GACC; gets rematch with Bluejays in 1st round of playoffs

The Pender Football Team dropped their last regular season game Thursday night, losing 64-50 at home to GACC.

The Bluejays led 24-14 at the end of one, and outscored the Pendragons 20-6 in the 2nd quarter to take a 44-20 lead into the locker room.

Pender won the 3rd quarter 16-14 to make it a 58-36 game at the end of three.

The Pendragons outscored GACC 14-6 in the 4th quarter.

Brady Oliver was 10-23 passing for 126 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Oliver also had 125 yards rushing on 11 carries, and scored 3 times.

Layne Heese made 18 tackles while Jaydon Jump totaled 14. Oliver and Jesse Thompson made 9 apiece while Korbin Hardenbrook recorded 8.

Pender racked up 292 yards of total offense, including 166 on the ground. The defense surrendered 490 yards of of total offense, including 466 rushing.

The Pendragons hung in there in the 2nd half with the Bluejays. Credit Pender for never giving up.

The Pendragons (3-5) travel to Beemer Thursday night for a rematch with GACC (8-0) in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The Bluejays relied heavily upon Jared Minnick and Derek Petz to shoulder much of the load Thursday night.

With that said, Pender relied a lot upon Oliver.

I think the Pendragons can definitely make this an interesting game to say the least though.

I honestly thought GACC would win rather easily over Pender in the regular season finale, but the Pendragons showed a lot of fight, moxie, and perseverance by fighting and battling the way they did.

It just goes to show that Pender is never going to give up and throw in the towel.

The Pendragons can appear to be down and out of a game, but they will never give up.

At no point Thursday night is this game over. Not with the way Pender scored on the Bluejays this past Thursday night.

The Pendragons have to focus on trying to slow down Minnick and Petz.

If Pender can limit those two then the Pendragons will be in great shape.

Easier said than done though given the way GACC ran the ball on Pender Thursday night.

Minnick had 339 yards and 8 touchdowns in the 1st game between these two teams.

Pender has to do a much better job against him this time around if they want to win.

The Pendragons are definitely capable of pulling the upset though. This should be a very interesting game.

Pender appears to be at full strength right now so that should bode well in their favor.

The Pendragons get a second shot at GACC...a shot at redemption.

Pender has to make the most of their opportunity, and seize the moment.

Playoff Football is a privilege and a reward for a great season, and the Pendragons have to make the most of this second chance in the playoffs.

Pender struggled in the regular season, yet here the Pendragons are in the playoffs with a chance to shock the state.

Strap up the chinstraps and hold on because we could be in for a dandy on 107.9 the Bull Thursday night.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with pregame at 6:40, again on 107.9 the Bull, online at www.kticradio.com, and on the free KTIC radio app.