Pirates’ comeback falls short

The Pike Pirates mounted a furious comeback from a 31-8 deficit but fell short as they lost 31-22 to Carver of Columbus here Friday night.Carver’s head coach short circuited as the clock wound down and exhibited poor sportsmanship, according to onlookers. The officiating was roundly criticized.Carver led 12-0 at the half then built that lead to 18-0 in the third quarter.Pike got on the board with a 10-yard TD run by quarterback Tyler Gregory and a two-point conversion to make it 18-8.The visitors began to scatter, smother and Carver the Pirates and built at 31-8 lead with the help of a hapless officiating crew.Then, the Pirates roared back.Hunter Bishop scored on a five-yard run and Pike converted another two-point PAT to make it 31-16.Gregory hit Henley with a seven-yard TD pass as time ran down but the PAT failed and Pike lost its region opener.More in this week’s print edition.