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Scores and Photos of Friday night high school football - Oct. 9
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - The majority of starters for South Pittsburg High School's football team are barely old enough to have a license, but they're now in the driver's seat in Region 3-1A
The Pirates, with 20 players in their first year as varsity starters, dominated the second half to beat Whitwell 42-14 Sunday afternoon and take command of the region in a game postponed by inclement weather on Friday night.
Whitwell was impressive in the first half, scoring on two of its three possessions and going into halftime with a 14-13 lead after rushing for 143 yards and running 15 more plays than the Pirates (5-2, 3-0). But the second half was the difference as the Pirates limited the Tigers (3-4, 2-1) to 22 rushing yards and one first down.
Whitwell was held on downs three times and lost a fumble on its last series.
"Our coaches pretty much questioned our manhood at halftime," said South Pittsburg junior quarterback Hogan Holland, who threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a pair of scores to help the Pirates claim their 25th straight win over Whitwell. "Everything just felt weird to start the game. Playing on a Sunday afternoon, we were just off. We knew we had to come out in the second half and play a lot better if we were going to win."
South Pittsburg opened the second half with a quick score to reclaim the lead for good, with Holland's 5-yard keeper capping the drive. The offense then fed off the energy created by the defensive stops to score on four straight second-half possessions, including an 11-play, 76-yard drive that consumed more than five minutes of game clock.
The Pirates gained 197 of their 244 rushing yards in the second half and outgained Whtiwell 239-81 in total yards in the final two quarters. Kyree Pryor led the Pirates with 74 yards on nine carries and Sawyer Kelley added 63 rushing yards, while Cade Kennemore caught four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Whitwell's Jake Sartin ran for 116 yards, with 101 of that coming in the first half.
"It was a gut check at halftime," Pirates coach Vic Grider said. "We challenged them, and I think the kids were embarrassed with how they had played in the first half, because they came out and I believe grew up a little with how they responded.
"We had several key guys out with injuries, and they were taking it to us in the first half, so we had every reason to fold up. But we put together as complete a second half as we've played all year. The way we played on defense in the second half, that's the reason we hired (former North Jackson coach) Shawn Peek to coach that side. That was huge to turn things around the way we did on defense."
The Pirates are the only 3-1A team with an unbeaten region record and have their remaining two league games at home as Grider closes in on the 11th league title in his 17 years as head coach.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.