In Their Own Words - Voices of the PAC-6 - Jordan vs. Riverside (11/11/2010)

Stepping on the field this past Friday evening both Jordan and Riverside understood that no matter the results of the game both teams would be focused on two very different agendas the following Monday.  For the Pirates, the 2010 season would be over and lines would be formed to turn in equipment and think about what might have been, as well as, what could be in the future.  Across town, the Falcons would be an at-large qualifier for the playoffs and likely in the new pod based system on the road to battle for their playoff lives.  In many ways the pressure was off and although both teams started strong, the Falcons dominated the game from start to finish in a crushing 51-13 victory that moved them to seven wins on the season and secured fourth place in the PAC-6 [DFBFan's Pick - Jordan 28, Riverside 20].

There was no doubt when the contest concluded that one team had reinforced some much needed momentum heading into a challenging playoff run, while the other simply succumbed to a long and tough season where seemingly little went right [PAC-6 Breakdown (Week 7) - Falcons visit Pirates - Momentum Means Something for Both].  The Falcons picked up their second straight win after escaping on senior night against Person two weeks ago and put together one of their stronger overall offensive performances of the year.  Meanwhile the defense put together a consistently strong effort and fittingly finished the game with T.J. Thorpe sprinting 99 yards for a touchdown after intercepting the Pirates on the final play of the game.  Thorpe, a Shrine Bowl selectee and North Carolina recruit, shined in his final regular season game of his career picking up over 275 all-purpose yards and scoring twice.

The Falcon offense accumulated almost 400 yards and tallied four scores on the ground while the defense held the Pirates to only 50 yards rushing in the game.  After a slow start that saw the Pirates take a seven to nothing lead into the second quarter the Falcons exploded for 28 unanswered points to close out the half.  From that point until Thorpe's return at the end of the game the Falcons never looked back.

The Pirates end the 2010 campaign with just one win on the season against conference foe East Chapel Hill.  Not a lot was expected of a team that had also struggled in 2009 and it will take an energized off-season for the Pirates to close the divide in 2011 with the rest of the conference.  The Falcons finish in the middle of the conference, losing to the top three finishers, while defeating the bottom three.  No coincidence that the two teams they are sandwiched around were close games.  The Falcons were tied with Northern late in the game only to see a late touchdown be the difference ultimately for third and fourth place in the conference.  While the Person Rockets, fifth place finishers, had the game in-hand against the Falcons before falling in the end with multiple turnovers.  As we discussed earlier in the year, a lot of parity existed within the conference and looking at just this example it's easy to see that the Falcons could have easily ended up as high as third in the conference to as low as fifth.

The Falcons learned this past weekend that they'll travel to Fayetteville this Friday to take on one of the powerhouses of the state in Seventy-First High School, coached by the legendary Bob Paroli [Selection Saturday (TODAY) - PAC-6 Playoff Picture & More].  The quotes are from the voices of the PAC-6 and were included in an article form the Durham Herald-Sun.  For more information on the game, follow the link provided at the end of the post.

T.J. Thorpe was one of many Falcons to shine on Friday night and he spoke about the teams' motivation to coming out and playing well as they concluded the regular season.

"It was the last game of the [regular] season," he said. "We wanted to spoil their senior night."

Jordan head coach Mike Briggs spoke about how he and his staff approached their contest with the one win Pirates.

"We talked all week about the fact that Riverside was just playing for pride," he said. "Sometimes pride can mean a lot."

Directly after the game, prior to Selection Saturday, the Falcons knew they would be heading to the playoffs, but who they would be playing and where was still a mystery.  Falcon wide receiver, Thorpe, talked about the next part of the season for the Falcons.

"We don't know who we're going to play," Thorpe said. "We're just going to play to the best of our ability and whatever happens, happens."

The Durham Herald-Sun (article by Steven J. Gaither)