SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — For all practical purposes, it has become “the Pirate rule.” Since the TSSAA implemented the mercy rule for football last season, South Pittsburg has put it in effect 16 times in a 23-game winning streak, including against every Region 3-1A foe.
Even with leading rusher David Jones, also the area’s scoring leader, out with a bruised shoulder, top-ranked South Pittsburg had no trouble rolling to its 14th consecutive region victory Friday night. The Pirates whipped Silverdale Baptist Academy 56-0.
“I don’t know that we have played a better first half than we did tonight,” Pirates coach Vic Grider said after his team extended its school-record win streak. “I was very pleased with how we executed.
“When we knew that David wouldn’t play, nobody panicked. He’s a great player, but we know we’ve got a lot of talented guys who can step up.”
One week after being held to their lowest point total in three seasons, the Pirates raced to a 42-0 lead by halftime, bringing the running-clock rule into play. Eight players scored the eight touchdowns for the Pirates, who have outscored their five region opponents 324-6 this season.
“We take a lot of pride in the mercy rule,” said senior running back Kartrez Bibbs, who led the Pirates with 126 rushing yards on seven carries, including an 89-yard TD run. “We just want to dominate everybody.
“We had a senior meeting before the game and talked about putting this one away early. We didn’t want them hanging around.”
The Pirates (8-0, 5-0) accumulated 542 yards, including 350 on the ground. Junior quarterback Terrell Robinson completed five of seven passes for 189 yards and two TDs and ran for another score.
Silverdale (4-3, 2-2) came into the game averaging 374 total yards and led the area in rushing average but was held to 101 total yards, including 90 on 31 rushing attempts. Senior Edgar Montgomery, the Seahawks’ leading rusher, did not play.
The Pirates, who have four shutouts, also intercepted two passes, with Josh Dawson returning one 34 yards for a score.
“Our front six on defense are pretty dang good,” Grider said. “To have the size and strength that we do there is rare in 1A, and we have a lot of speed coming in behind them. We can create a lot of mismatches on both sides of the ball.”
Stephen has covered high school sports in the tri-state area since the early 1990s, starting at the News-Free Press as a 19-year-old reporter. He has been with the Times Free Press since its inception and has been an assistant sports editor for more than seven years. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP’s newsroom, winning numerous state and regional awards for his writing on high school athletics. He has two children, Riley ...
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