A soggy field and a missed scoring opportunity set the tone for the Pike Liberal Arts School Patriots 0-25 loss to Pickens Academy Friday night on Patriot Field.

The loss makes the Patriot 3-4 on the season, and dashes hopes of a playoff berth. Pickens, is tied for first place with Bessemer and Macon-East.

"We still have an opportunity for a winning season," said coach Mack Williams. "We have an open date next week and we're going to use the time to refocus."

"Our kids played hard the whole game," he said.

But it wasn't a Patriot tide. A missed block on the first drive and an interception on a pass from Wesley Grant to Dean Anderson deep in Pirate territory ended the Patriot's chance at drawing first blood.

"We made too many mental mistakes," Williams said. "It sums up the whole ball game. We had four tough games in row."

The Pirates didn't take long to put points on the board, taking eight plays to drive into the Patriot

endzone on an 11-yard carry by senior fullback Jonathan Wright.

The next real chance for the Patriots came when junior linebacker Mitch Herring recovered a fumble with 7:09 remaining in the second quarter, but the Patriots just could gain the momentum to sustain the drive with three incomplete passes from junior quarterback Andrew Folmar. Chance Kelley gained 15 yards before being hit in the backfield for a three yard loss.

With just a few minutes remaining before the half, senior quarterback Wesley Grant was sacked for an 8-yard loss, but with just 22 seconds remaining, the Patriots got the ball back when senior defensive end Jonah McWaters intercepted a pass Mark Smith pass.

A trick play in the opening minutes of the third quarter once again put the Pirates in pay dirt with a 66-yard hookup from senor quarterback Martin Colvin to Andy Price, a junior wide receiver. A second third-quarter TD on a 9-yard Wright carry and a two-point conversion brought the Pickens' scoring total to 19.

A 63-yard breakaway by senior tailback Scott Foster set up the Pirates final score in the fourth quarter. McWaters stopped the two-point conversion with his second interception of the night.

For the game, the Patriots had 36 carries for 115 yards and were 7 for 17 passing for 75 yards. On special teams, the Patriots had five returns for 126 yards.