Hannibal Pirates to Play for Class 4 State Title Friday

The storybook 2021 season for the Hannibal Pirates is not over yet.

In the Missouri Class 4 state football semifinals Saturday, the Pirates won on the road, knocking off the North County Raiders 42-26 at Bonne Terre.

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It was a back and forth first half, with the Raiders and the Pirates trading scores through most of the first half.

As it turned out, Hannibal took the lead for good with just under eight minutes to go in the second quarter when Aneyus Williams scored from 31 yards out, giving the Pirates a 21-14 lead.

Williams scored again on a 55 yard screen pass to stretch the Pirate lead to 28-14 with 2:33 left.

North County kicked a field goal at the end of the first half to make the score 28-17.

The Raiders' second half scoring consisted of a one yard touchdown run and a field goal. But 28-26 was as close as North County would get.

Williams scored twice more in the second half, with the score putting the game away coming on a 75 yard run with about three minutes left.

The Pirates' record improves to 13-0. North County's season ends at 12-2.

The win puts Hannibal in the Class 4 Show-Me Bowl against the Smithville Warriors at 11 a.m. Friday, December 3 at Farout Field in Columbia.

Smithville is unbeaten and has been the number one ranked Class 4 team in Missouri for most of the season, while the best Hannibal could manage was number three.

But, both teams will get to prove on the field who's the best Friday at Mizzou.