The St. Mary's Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Byers Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, St. Mary's turned things around against South Park on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Burros 54-14. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 40-6.
Michael Trechter had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 164 yards and five TDs while completing 75% of his passes, and also rushing for 58 yards and one score on only five carries. His passing game has become a key predictor of St. Mary's success: the team is 2-1 when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 1-4 otherwise. Jackson Beam made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
St. Mary's run defense was locked in: South Park could only muster three yards per carry. The team can thank Landen Borg for the heroic effort on defense: he. St. Mary's didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.9.
Jackson Beam
| 10/24/25 vs South Park | 24 |
| 10/17/25 vs Simla | 18 |
| 10/11/25 @ Calhan | 12 |
| 10/03/25 vs Elbert | 6 |
| 09/25/25 @ Clear Creek | 12 |
| + 3 more games |
St. Mary's didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. Beam led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Byers faced Calhan in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Byers fell 50-44 to Calhan. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (36), Byers still had to take the loss.
St. Mary's will need to focus on slowing down James Maes, one of several Byers players who made an impact when they last played. He threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 34 yards. Benjamin McPherson was another key player, picking up 91 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Byers, adding 12 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Caleb Eastwood, who ran a punt back for a touchdown. Another bright spot was a kickoff return touchdown from McPherson.
St. Mary's victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 3-5. As for Byers, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 6-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. St. Mary's has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 170.5 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Byers struggles in that department as they've been averaging 199.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
St. Mary's was dealt a bruising 68-20 defeat at the hands of Byers when the teams last played back in November of 2024. Thankfully for the Pirates, Kaleb Willoughby (who rushed for 165 yards and three scores on only 13 carries, and also picked up 60 receiving yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
