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The Pirates, in a tight game in the first half, got lost in Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes' quickness in the final two quarters and were ousted, 35-16, by the Lakers in the Division 8 Pre-District contest Friday night. Peck ended a strong season, which netted an NCTL title, at 8-2. WOLL, 8-2, will move into the Region 3, District 2 championship game at Deckerville this Saturday night. The Lakers have one State championship to their credit and two State- runner-up trophies among their 19 playoff appearances.

"When you get a tough opponent like that, you know you're going to be in for a battle," said Rob Pouch, Pirates coach. "But, we showed a lot of heart. We kept going four quarters and played physical to the end. It just shows that these are tough kids.

"It's disappointing to go out on a losing note," Pouch continued. "But, all (the kids) have to do is look back what they've accomplished most of the season."

Momentum is important in any crucial game. It was something that Peck could not keep.

The Lakers, using the Ôspin offense', with at least four players split out in the backfield, drove 60 yards on their opening drive to score on a seven yard run by Jim Clifford. L. J. Stolarski kicked the extra point.

Late in the quarter, Peck's Bryan Carrier partially blocked a WOLL punt and Peck took over at their own 45. Moments later, Pirate back Michael Mann, one of the leading rushers in the state, burst 49 yards to the Lakers five. Mann put Peck on the board on the next play and then ran in the two-pointer for an 8-7 lead.

The Lakers started their next possession at the Peck 26, but twice lost big yardage on bad snaps to the quarterback in the shotgun and were forced to punt from the 10. In an earlier possession, a bad snap, recovered by WOLL, resulted in another big loss.

Following the Laker punt, the Pirates could not take advantage of good field position. Peck fumbled and Lakers recovered at the Pirates' 49.

The Lakers, with 1:54 to go in the half, took a lead they would not relinquish, on Stolarski's, high-floating, 27 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Schumann, who had two defenders on him. Stolarski's kick made it 14-8.

The Pirates got an early break in the third quarter when safety Billy Burns intercepted a Lakers pass at his own 10. That emotional boost lasted less than two minutes as the Pirates fumbled and WOLL recovered at the Peck 17 yard line.

On the very next play, Clifford, now running out of the ÔI' formation with the quarterback under center, raced 17 yards for the score and a 21-8 lead. The Pirates never recovered.

Clifford, a quick-hitting back who rushed for 169 yards on 27 carries, scored his third TD of the night on a touchdown run of 21 yards with just :28.2 seconds left in the quarter.

Stolarski rounded out the scoring at 3:52 of the fourth quarter on a two yard run.

The Pirates did come back, thanks to two long runs by junior quarterback Zac Overstreet, to put eight more points on the board. Mann finished the drive off with an 11 yard run. Overstreet ran in the two-point conversion.

Pouch said the fumbles hurt, and so did not getting a break on WOLL's mis-snaps, but it was their opponent's speed that made the biggest difference.

"In the first half, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We came out and played basic football Ð we blocked and tackled," said Pouch. "(WOLL) adjusted, and we adjusted, but we couldn't take advantage because of their speed.

"They were the quickest team, and most athletic team overall that we've seen all year," Pouch added.

The Pirates finished the night with 179 yards rushing, their lowest total all season, and 23 passing. Mann had most of the rushing yards with 138 on 26 carries. The Pirate senior closed out the season, unofficially, rushing for 1,977 yards and scoring 28 touchdowns.

WOLL totaled 203 yards rushing and 27 passing.

Reflecting on the season, Pouch noted, "It was a great season. They can't overlook what they did Ð a conference championship and a great run in the season.

"(WOLL) was a great program we went against," he continued. "You want to go against one of the best in the state and see how you stack up."