FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope Pirates (7A) fell just short of victory in a hard-fought season opener against the No. 3 ranked (5A) St. Paul’s Saints Friday nightW.C. Majors Field at Fairhope Municipal Stadium.

On paper the game was evenly matched with the Saints edging out the Pirates with 330 total yards of offense to Fairhope’s 314.

St. Paul’s outgained Fairhope on the ground with 208 total yards, led by Jordan Ingram, who had 103 yards on 15 carries. Michael Colclasure had 71 of Fairhope’s 141 total yards to lead the Pirates’ ground attack.

Devin Mitchell led the Pirates’ through the air, completing 12 of 19 passes for 173 yards, adding 56 yards on 14 carries. Ramone Bradley led all receivers with five catches for 123 yards. For the Saints, Jalyn Armour-Davis had six catches for 93 yards as QB Swift Lyle completed 11 of 15 passes for 122 yards.

But it was a pair of turnovers – one that led to points for the Saints and one with just seconds left on the clock – that made the difference in the contest, said Pirate head coach Tim Carter.

“It was a good game against a very good opponent,” Carter said, “but we fumbled the ball twice and that was the difference in the game. You can’t turn the ball over and expect to win.”

The first turnover happened early in the second quarter after a blocked field goal attempt gave the Pirates the ball at their own 27-yard line.

Fairhope drove to near midfield, but turned the ball over after a short pass play, giving the Saints the ball at the Pirate 47. Two plays later Lyle connected with Armour-Davis for a 45-yard strike and Wilson Beaverstock added the extra point to give the Saints the early lead at 7-0 with 10:44 to go in the second quarter.

The Pirates came right back driving 80 yards in 11 plays, recovering a fumble at the Saints 38-yard line to keep the drive alive, then Mitchell connected with Bradley on a 25-yard pass to the Saint 15. After losing two yards on first down, Mitchell hooked up with receiver Jackson Turner to the Saint 4 and Colclasure ran it in from there. Cole Deeds added the extra point to knot the score at 7 a piece with 5:52 to play in the half.

The Saints then answered with a nine-play, 78-yard drive. Daniel Beard ran it in from four yards out and Beaverstock’s PAT gave the Saints a 14-7 lead at the half.

The Pirates took their first lead early in the fourth quarter, tying the score at 14-14 on a 12-yard TD run by Colclasure. After a 22-yard field goal by Beaverstock, Colclasure hit paydirt again with a 4-yard run and Deeds’ boot gave Fairhope a 21-17 lead with 9:31 to go in the contest.

But St. Paul’s drove 80 yards in six plays, converting a third-and-5 with a 19-yard catch and run by Oliver Willman. Following a 13-yard run by Ingram and a pair of Pirate penalties, including a pass interference penalty that put the ball at the Pirate 12, Ingram ran it in from there and Beaverstock’s PAT gave St. Paul’s a 24-21 lead with 6:38 to play.

The two teams traded drives without a first down and Fairhope would get one final chance to claim victory, getting the ball back with 2:04 left in the contest.

Mitchell hit C.J. Edwards to convert a fourth-and-2 to the Saints 39, and Fairhope converted a third-and-4 with a Colclasure 5-yard run to the 28.

A completed pass would have given the Pirates a first-and-goal and possibly enough time to kick a game-tying field goal, but the Saints stripped the ball away in a fight for extra yardage, getting the ball back on their own 5-yard line and were able to run the remaining 14.7 seconds off the clock to gain the win.

The Pirates will be back home on Friday to open up their 7A Region 1 schedule with cross-county rival Foley in a fight for the Blue-Gold Trophy while the Saints will open up their home schedule against St. Stanislaus (Miss.).