After rolling to a 6-1 record and riding a 6-game winning streak, the Pirates Homecoming game was spoiled by the undefeated Ladue Rams.

The Ladue Rams are no fluke this season.

The Rams went undefeated in the 2017 season until they took a tough blow in the Class 4 state championship game. Webb City shut out Ladue in that match-up, 14-0. The team came into the 2018 season looking for redemption and the Pirates, also a 2017 state championship game runner-up, were no exception for the Rams.

The Rams came into the game red hot on offense and are led on the defensive side of the ball by senior defensive lineman Moses Okpala who is 6-feet-7-inches and weighs in at about 255 pounds. Okpala is a 3-star recruit who has 17 different offers from the likes of Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Mizzou, and even Dartmouth in the Ivy League. Okpala made the Ladue defense look NFL-like during Friday’s match-up against the Pirates.

“It was bad and we have to do better of taking care of the ball as an offense all together,” quarterback Andre Webb said. “We really just have to learn from it and move on.”

The team has usually had no problem taking care of the rock, but with the size of the Ladue line and the weather conditions that made for a slippery football game, there were lots of loose balls.

The offense that averaged 36.4 points going into this game looked like it didn’t exist on Friday night only scoring one rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The highlight of the Homecoming game had to be an Aaron Webb’s interception.

Even though it always feels great to make a difference in a game, losing is not fun.

“It didn’t feel good,” the senior defensive back said, “but I think that was a wake up call considering Ladue is a very good opponent and we can go over that game to see what we can do better now that we’re going to be facing harder competition as the year goes on.”

The Pirates will play their final regular season game on Friday, Oct. 19, against arch rival, the Ritenour Huskies who have a record of 4-4 and are sitting right at the .500 mark on the season.

Pattonville is currently the third seed in the District behind No. 2 DeSmet and No. 1 Christian Brothers College in the standings. The match-up against the Huskies could make or break the Pirates’ chances of hosting a game at Pattonville Stadium during the Class 6 playoffs.

Check back next week to see who and where Pattonville will be playing as they try to get back to the state championship game.