Josh Hunter loved the way his Braden River Pirates played in the second half Friday night at Venice High.
"We grew up," Hunter said.
Venice coach John Peacock was unhappy with the way his Indians played in the second half.
"We just got to learn how to put away teams," Peacock said.
Somewhere in the middle lies the Indians' 31-17 victory at Powell-Davis Stadium.
Venice led 31-7 going into the final quarter. Braden River made it close with a 25-yard field goal from Kadin Kerns and 15-yard catch-and-run by Willie McNeal that made it a 14-point game with two minutes to play.
"We didn't lay down," Hunter said. "We didn't stop playing. I think we can compete at this level against that type of football team. I think it was a good showing."
That's all Hunter was really looking for against Venice (2-0), which handed the Pirates a 28-0 loss last season.
Problem was, it took the Pirates (1-1) two quarters before they began showing their coaches they could play with Venice.
Venice quarterback Trey Burton carried the Indian offense in the first half, running for three scores.
In the second half, it was Dri Archer's turn. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound senior finished with 196 yards on 15 carries and scored two third quarter touchdowns on runs of 56 and 40 yards.
But the first play of the third quarter showed Hunter his team wasn't going to lie down.
Archer took the handoff from Burton and was drilled in the backfield by Carmelo Scalone. On the first play of the Indians' next possession, it was Scalone and Ty Williams who met Archer in the backfield and dropped him for a three-yard loss.
"You saw Archer make some big plays, but I think we stuck him too," Hunter said. "I think that was the first time he's been hit all season."
Jajuan Bell led the Pirates with 80 yards on 23 carries. McNeal added 35 on six.
The Pirates fumbled the ball away on their first two drives. They roughed Burton after one pass. They hit a receiver out of bounds.
But, Hunter liked the way his team responded in the second half.
"We battled," he said. "We showed a lot of growing up in the second half, I think."
Peacock admitted the Pirates defense might have played in a role in his team not being able to finish as strong as he would have liked.
"They're a tough team," he said. "I told our guys they're going to be one of the tougher teams we play all year. They're definitely the best team we've played all year."
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