On home turf, Pirate football handles Skyline with ease

Lady Pirates volleyball defeats Marionville Lady Comets on hardwood
 
The Class 1, 10th ranked Ash Grove Pirates hosted and defeated the Skyline Tigers on Friday, Oct. 3, 41-14.
It was a low scoring first quarter as the Pirates led 7-0 after Kyler Reece hit Harison Thompson on a 10-yard pass for the score. Skyline came back in the second quarter to take an 8-7 lead but the Pirates answered right back. First on a 26-yard pass from Reece to Thompson to give the Pirates a 13-8 lead. Ash Grove then increased that lead after Reece hit Jaden Hance on a 75-yard pass to go into the half with a 21-8 advantage.
The Reece to Thompson connection continued in the third quarter as they hooked up again, this time on a 63-yard pass to give the Pirates a 28-8 edge. Reece would score on his own, bringing it in from five yards out to increase the lead to 35-8. The Pirates added one more score after returning an interception two yards for the score. Skyline added a final score in the fourth quarter to make the final score 41-14.
Reece ended the game 16-18 for 318 yards and four touchdowns and added another 29 yards rushing on 12 carries and a touchdown. Thompson ended the game with 175 yards and three touchdowns on eight catches and Hance had 106 yards on two catches with a touchdown.
Ash Grove goes to 5-1 on the season and were not scheduled for a game this week. With the win, the Pirates moved into third place in the Class 1, District 3 standings with 46 points. Thayer is the leader in the district standings with 56.81 points, followed by Marionville (50.16), Ash Grove, Miller (43.33), Pierce City (30.67) and Cabool (29.85).
Long sets wins record
The game also marked the 63rd win of head coach Ryan Long, making him the wins leader in the history of Ash Grove’s football program. As part of the celebration, a firework show took place and a banner was brought onto the field to commemorate the achievement.

Volleyball
The Lady Pirates volleyball team traveled to Pierce City on Thursday, Oct. 2 and lost in five sets. Ash Grove defeated Marionville in five sets, 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-10 and 16-14 on Tuesday, Sept. 30 in Marionville. The Lady Pirates lost to Clever in four sets on Monday, Sept. 29 in Clever.
The Lady Pirates are 7-5-1 this season and were scheduled to travel to Rush Home School on Monday before hosting Stockton last night and ending the week at Miller tomorrow.