Sharks Win vs. Massachusetts Pirates, Advance to 2-1

The Jacksonville Sharks came off of their bye week with a 55-36 Saturday night victory over the Massachusetts Pirates in Worcester, MA.

The Sharks (2-1) were able to top the Pirates (1-3) thanks to stand-out performances from their defense as well as QB Jonathan Bane and WR Devin Wilson.

It was all Sharks, all the way from just about the very beginning of this one, with the Pirates managing to take the lead just once the entire game.

Pirates QB and reigning league MVP Sean Brackett had his second pass of the evening picked off by Seth Ellis of the Sharks. The Sharks took advantage of the turnover, scoring on two consecutive possessions to open up a 14-0 lead.

The Pirates would respond, with Brackett rushing for two touchdowns and kicker Tyler Rausa scoring on a kickoff to give the team their only lead of the night.

But the Sharks came back with two more touchdowns before the end of the first half, and they didn’t look back from there.

Brackett struggled mightily for the Pirates, throwing two interceptions and taking multiple sacks. The reigning MVP has been off to a rather rocky start this season, but the Sharks’ defense also deserves a lot of credit. Ellis had six tackles and an interception. Robert Brown had five tackles and an interception, and Zack Brown added two tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.

On the offensive end, Bane was 22-32 for 173 yards. It was his best game of the young season, as he found the end zone seven times (six passing TD, one rushing) without throwing an interception. Devin Wilson led the way for the Sharks’ receiving corps with twelve catches for 77 yards and 3 TDs.

The Sharks will look to continue their current winning streak at home next Saturday as they host the defending league champs, the Carolina Cobras, at 7:00 PM.

GAME NOTES:

• Durron Neal, Jarmon Fortson, and Alstevis Squirewell also found the end zone for the Sharks.
• The Sharks won despite badly losing the penalty battle, with 9 penalties for 89 yards compared to the Pirates’ 4 for 16 yards.
• Brandon Behr had five touchbacks for the Sharks.