Pattonville battled the constant drizzle and the sixth-seeded Marquette Mustangs in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 6 football playoffs. In a rematch between the two teams that met earlier this season, the Pirates escaped with another victory, this time beating the Mustangs 21-17.

The No. 3 Pirates now advance to face No. 2 DeSmet in the Districts semifinal game at DeSmet on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.

On Oct. 26, the Pirates scored first when Sam Sanderson got a touchdown with 6:12 left in the 1st quarter. He reached into the end zone with the football in his hand on a drive up the middle. 

After Marquette got a field goal, they completed an unexpected onside kick and then threw a 46-yard pass to take a 10-7 lead against Pattonville with 10 minutes left in the 1st half.

The final 20 seconds before the break provided a lot of action. Marquette pulled down a touchdown reception to extend its lead, but the Pirates returned the following kickoff to the 1-yard line with .8 seconds left in the half.

The Pirates called a timeout and on a direct snap to Sanderson, he ran it up the middle for a touchdown as time expired in the 1st half.

Pattonville trailed 17-14 at the break.

Sanderson knew that they had something to prove.

Heading into the 4th quarter, the score remained 17-14 until Sanderson took a direct snap on a 4th-and-2 play and ran the ball right for 18 yards to score a touchdown.

On the sideline, players cheered, and in the stands, the students roared as the Pirates took the lead with 9:06 left to play.

After the Pirates took over on downs with 28.2 seconds left remaining in the game, the student section was chanting “I believe that we will win!” and a simple kneel down ran out the clock securing the victory.

The March to State continues but the Pirates have to get through second-seeded DeSmet on the road. The game will kick off on Friday at 7 p.m.