CAPE CORAL — No Eli Pearl? No Jaylen Francis? No problem.
The Port Charlotte football team dominated in its season opener Friday at Cape Coral. What was supposed to be a shootout became a blowout.
Logan Flaherty and Bruce Blanden each rushed for four touchdowns as the Pirates pulled away early and forced a running clock in the early stages of the fourth quarter in a 63-26 victory.
The Pirates took the ball first and took three minutes to score, with Flaherty running it in from 11 yards to make it 7-0.
Cape Coral’s Derek Hooker hit Soldier Morse with a 59-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-6. But the Pirates wasn’t about to let the Seahawks keep up.
Blanden scored his first touchdown moments later, then another toward the end of the first quarter to make it 21-7.
Flaherty has one of his many long runs early in the second to make it 28-7 before Noel Devine Jr. finally got Cape Coral back on the board to make it 28-14 with 2:39 left.
The Pirates weren’t satisfied. Blanden scored again with 1:29 left, and Flaherty got two runs worth 50 yards in the closing seconds, with the final 10 making it 42-14 at the break.
Hooker hit Caleb Cobb early in the second half, but Port Charlotte chewed up six minutes on the ensuing drive. Devine Jr. returned a kickoff for a score, only to have Flaherty score a 37-yard touchdown. It was 56-26 after three quarters.
Javi Newell scored early in the fourth to force a running clock for the remainder of the game.
KEY PLAYS: There are so many. One that stands out was when Cape tried to score at the end of the first half but had to punt. An interference on a fair catch placed the ball at midfield with 30 seconds left. The Pirates eschewed running out the clock and took two plays to score. That was the backbreaker and the Seahawks never threatened again.
KEY STATS: Flaherty rushed for 239 yards on 13 carries. He was also eight of nine passing for 180 yards, hitting six different receivers. Blanden added 71 yards on 16 carries. Hooker was 12 of 17 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
WHY IT MATTERS: It was quite a statement the Pirates made as the team starts its gauntlet of heavyweights. Clearwater Central Catholic is next and they’ve been regional champions nine out of 12 years. It was great that Flaherty was able to throw high percentage safe passes and gained a lot of yards, since Cape played for the run. There are a few things that need to be cleaned up. The Pirates took their foot off the gas in the second half at times. There was a turnover and a kickoff return for a score. Coach Jordan Ingman is sure to work on these this coming week at practice.
QUOTE: “I give credit to the coaches. A lot of what you see is offseason work. Logan did some things that you don’t always see on the field. The kids work hard and I get to work with 25 coaches with a combined 400 years of experience. They do a great job adjusting the game plan based on injuries,” Jordan Ingman, Port Charlotte head coach.