[By Maddie Kuhn, Special to ETSN.fm]

PARIS -- A defensive battle became an offensive explosion as the Pittsburg Pirates defeated the Paris Wildcats, 48-30, on Friday night.

Pittsburg’s Fre’Zarian Harrison tallied 48 yards and three touchdowns as the red-zone running back, while Tray Walker rushed for 101 yards. Brian Baca was 13-for-19 passing for 206 yards and three scores -- two to Damien Porter and one to Dejour Dowell.

The Pirates held a 14-7 lead at half, and Paris cut it to 14-10 with a 32-yard field goal with nine minutes to go in the third. Pittsburg took five minutes to move 64 yards and capped it with a 6-yard Harrison rush, and a failed extra-point attempt, to go up 20-10.

Pitt scored twice more for a 34-10 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. The first TD was a Damien Porter 14-yard touchdown catch. The second, a Harrison 3-yard run, capped a drive in which the offense pounded the ball off the right side behind 6-foot-4, 250-pound senior tackle Nathaniel Capers.

The teams traded big-play touchdowns throughout the fourth quarter, as they totaled 41 points in the frame.

Penalties played a role in the first-half scores. Paris got on the board first when senior quarterback Quez Allen ran it in from four yards out. It capped a nine-play drive that began at the Pirate 38 after a Pittsburg personal foul penalty on the punt return.

On the ensuing drive, a Paris personal foul moved the Pirates from their own 31 to their 46, but Pittsburg backed itself up with an illegal motion. Despite the rainy and windy conditions, Baca found Shon Smith for a 15-yard gain to reach the Wildcats’ 48. On the next play, Baca faked out the entire Paris defense on a bootleg to the left side and dove into the end zone to tie it at 7.

Dejour Dowell broke the stalemate with an acrobatic catch in the back left corner of the end zone off a 31-yard pass for the 14-7 halftime lead.

Allen was 9-for-26 for 172 yards passing and had 146 yards rushing with two scores. He threw two TD passes to Jalon Pipkins, who totaled 95 yards receiving.

Pittsburg (7-1, 2-1) continues District 7-4A Division I play on the road at Princeton, while Paris (4-4, 0-3) travels to face Quinlan Ford.

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