Surging Pirates too much for CC

The Charlestown Pirates’ tour through the Mid-Southern Conference stopped Friday in Corydon for a quick dismantling of the Panthers. Charlestown (6-0,4-0) scored 21 points in the first quarter to take control against Corydon (3-3, 3-2), and stay atop the conference standings with two games to go.
The running attack of junior Cameron Metzger combined with senior quarterback Andrew Smith finding senior wide receiver Stephen Grayson made it difficult to stop the Pirates. Metzger scored four touchdowns on the night. Aaron May compounded Corydon’s problems by returning a punt 54 yards for a score, putting Charlestown up 21-0. The Panthers ended the first quarter on a strong note stopping Charlestown, forcing a 46-yard field goal attempt from Craig Brown that came up short.
Metzger and sophomore Josh Graham added touchdowns in the second quarter for the Pirates. Senior defensive back Adam Ward came up with a big sack for a loss of 11 late in the second quarter. Panthers coach Jason Timberlake commended Ward for playing all four quarters with maximum effort. The half ended with James Kendrick hauling in Charlestown’s third interception.
The second half was more Metzger. The junior ran for two more scores in the third quarter rounding out the scoring for Charlestown. Corydon used Dylan Harl at quarterback, moving Brightman to a slot receiver for a possession in the third quarter.
Dakota Cassell had another impressive outing, this time on the defensive side of the ball. Cassell snatched a Smith pass out of the air in the third quarter, ending another potential scoring drive for the Pirates.
The Panthers were able to put together a solid offensive drive into Charlestown territory led by Mat Carver and Cassell. Cassell ran for a 19-yard gain before the drive stalled.
Corydon’s defense yielded very little yardage in the fourth quarter. A few young faces entered the game in the final period. Sophomore Dustin Farmer and freshman Tyler Jones saw some valuable time at running back for the Panthers.
Corydon will face a resurgent Paoli squad on homecoming night Friday and look to move back over the .500 mark.
‘We can’t take it for granted. We can’t take anything for granted the way we are playing right now,’ said sophomore defensive/offensive lineman Andrew Simler. ‘We’ve got to come back (Monday) and work our butts off.’
Paoli (3-3, 2-2) will have a three-game winning streak on the line, after losing 17 straight dating back to September 2005.