GALENA — The Pirates easily handled East Dubuque, sending them back home on the short end of a 34-8 game.

Galena had a fourth-and-one at its own 41 on its initial drive of the game, and coach Ed Freed decided to keep the offense in. Matt Hillard (17 carries 112 yards and one touchdown) burst up the middle for three to keep Galena rolling. He then finished the 11-play drive with a 10-yard run to open the scoring.

After a strong defensive stand, the Pirates looked like they would break the game open with an 85-yard pass from Mitchell Phillips to Tyler DeLoach, but a very late flag brought it back and pinned them deep.

Refusing to give in, the defense held the Warriors to negative yardage for the series.

Phillips continued his accurate passing (he completed 10-of-14 for 107 yards and a touchdown in the first half) spreading the ball to five different receivers and hooking up with Nate Bingham for an 11-yard strike to make it 14-0 at the half.

The second half started with Hillard on the bench as a precaution after a hard hit to the head.

But the Pirates never missed a beat as Trevor Harris stepped in and kept the chains moving for Galena until the lead was up to 28-0 and the bench was cleared.

The Pirate bench played hard and kept up the onslaught with the run of the night being turned in by Ben Pluemer.

He was hit behind the line put his hand on the ground and spun twice, refusing to quit struggling for extra yards.

Pluemer finally broke through the line and went 27 yards to paydirt.

The Galena defense had four interceptions and three sacks.

- John Pokornik, GateHouse News Service