DAYTON — Any concerns West Side head coach Tyson Moser had about his relatively inexperienced defense were put to rest in the Pirates’ home and season opener.

Defending 2A champion West Side racked up six sacks and gave up 173 yards of total offense in a hard-fought 8-0 victory over rival Firth in a non-district football game Friday at Lyle S. Henderson Field.

“We scrimmaged earlier (against North Fremont) and our defense was a little rough because we have a lot of new players ... and we came out and really went at (Firth), and showed them what we can do as a young team,” West Side defensive lineman Judd Ward said. “And I was proud that we could actually hold them to zero (points) tonight.”

Indeed, keeping the Cougars, who are year in and year out one of the best programs in 2A, off the scoreboard was a noteworthy achievement for the Pirates.

“They’re one of the best teams in the state, for sure, and it’s quite the accomplishment,” said West Side senior Josh King, who played well on both sides of the ball. “But we’ve still got a lot to come out and fix and we’ve got a lot to work on because we did do well, but we’re not where we need to be to do what we want to do.”

With an offense that features first-team all-state quarterback Peyton Brown, a three-year starter, Moser was expecting to score more points Friday. To the Cougars’ credit, they were sound on the defensive end as they limited the Pirates to 251 total yards.

It was a valuable learning experience for West Side’s offensive line, which struggled to establish itself at times after the first quarter.

“They did (get moved off the ball a little) and that’s something that we’re going to have to work on,” Moser said. “We knew that we were a little inexperienced there, but that’s not an excuse. We’ve got the guys there that we should be able to open some holes and be able to run the ball.”

West Side’s O-line did get the job done on the game’s only scoring drive. The Pirates marched 76 yards in 11 plays at the end of the first quarter.

The possession was capped off by an explosive 21-yard touchdown run by Shayler Thain with 20 seconds left in the quarter. Brown then rolled out of the pocket and punched it in for the two-point conversion.

Although they didn’t consistently move the ball, the Cougars did get inside the Pirates’ 30-yard line on three occasions. West Side’s defense bowed up all three times.

Firth marched to the West Side 10 late in the first half, but Kade Howell jumped the route and picked off a Brodie Cate pass on fourth down. Jonny Mott also had a nice, acrobatic interception for the Pirates on a pass tipped by King.

“It was kind of scary there for a while because (Firth) would get in the red zone (a few times), and we would hold them out,” King said. “And that’s what it’s going to take to win games like that.”

West Side’s secondary did an excellent job as Cate completed 4 of 17 passes for 73 yards. Three of those receptions were difficult plays made by tall, well-covered targets.

“I’m really pleased with our secondary,” Moser said. “That’s a brand new secondary and, man, I was just saying on the way in those kids, how they’ve improved from the summer, from passing league to our scrimmage with North Fremont (was huge).”

Ward, King and Tyler Meek each finished with eight tackles for the Pirates. Branson Hatch was involved in an impressive four sacks, while Ward was in Cate’s face for much of the evening.

Brown completed 12 of 18 passes for 134 yards and zero interceptions for West Side, which didn’t turn the ball over. The athletic King was Brown’s favorite target as he hauled in four receptions — two of which were in heavy traffic.

Thain and Hatch combined to rush for 105 yards on 20 carries for the hosts.