Senior Payton LuGrain is this week’s Pirate Competitor of the Week sponsored by Galena Culver’s and the Galena Gazette. Payton’s play on the offensive and defensive line led the Pirates to a 20-0 victory over Dakota in the home finale.  According to coach Ed Freed, “Payton did an excellent job for us against Dakota upfront on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he helped lead our offensive line in making some big holes as we rushed for a season high 240 yards. Payton did a great job of pulling and playing physical. On defense he had 7 tackles including a big sack in the game in helping our defense to the shutout victory and a couple of big red zone stops.” Payton was honored with a gift basket from the Galena Culver’s, as well as a newspaper courtesy of the Galena Gazette.

Also Nominated:
7th grade volleyball player Neveah Hauber had 8 aces, 10 kills and 12 blocks over the course of three games last week, helping the Pirates finish off an undefeated season.  According to coach Emily Rigopoulos, “Neveah has improved tremendously throughout this volleyball season and plays a major role in our defense with her blocking.

8th grade volleyball player Kallan Kropp was nominated by coach Kailyn Stumpf who said “Kallan has worked hard this season. She has proven herself to be an excellent role model for her teammates. Her teammates look up to her both on and off the court. I’m proud of her and her hard work.”

8th grade football player Max Schulz had an outstanding effort on both sides of the ball in an 8-6 victory over previously undefeated Du-Pec in the last game of the season.  He caught two long passes.  One of these passes was the game tying touchdown with 3 minutes left in the game.  Max also had 3 interceptions on defense including the game sealing INT with just over a minute left.  The victory helped the Pirates clinch a share of the conference title.  What a great way to finish off the season!

Junior running back Sam Eaton had a big night rushing the ball against Dakota as he had 17 carries for 141 yards. According to coach Ed Freed, “He came up big for us with some nice runs especially early in the game to get our offense rolling and help get the momentum in the game. Sam has continued to work hard and has really stepped up the last couple of weeks.”