SOUTH PITTSBURG 42,FAYETTEVILLE 0
The stars: Hogan Holland passed for 163 yards and two touchdowns and Kyree Pryor ran for 107 on just seven carries, scoring twice.Up next: South Pittsburg will travel to undefeated Columbia Academy.
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - Five months later, the bad blood lingered for South Pittsburg from a summer 7-on-7 passing scrimmage against Fayetteville.
Focused and physical from the opening snap, the Pirates scored three touchdowns on their first seven snaps on their way to a convincing 42-0 win over the Tigers Friday night in the second round of the Class 1A playoffs.
That makes three times in four years the Pirates (11-1) have eliminated the Tigers (9-3) from the postseason, with an average margin of victory of 41 points.
"They disrespected us, so we really wanted to get after them," said Pirates senior quarterback Hogan Holland, who completed four of his eight passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. "It was really important to jump on them early. That felt good."
South Pittsburg travels to fourth-ranked Columbia Academy (11-0) in next week's quarterfinals. The Bulldogs eliminated the Pirates in last year's quarterfinals.
"I'd say we'll be highly motivated for that one," Pirates coach Vic Grider said. "Our guys have thought about that game for a while, so I'd expect we'll be ready."
The Pirates drove 80 yards in just four plays to begin Friday's game, capped when Cade Kennemore turned a short hitch from Holland into a 64-yard touchdown reception after breaking two tackles and outracing the rest of the defense.
Four of South Pittsburg's next five scores in the first half took three or fewer plays and included a 75-yard run by Sawyer Kelley, 31-yard run by Kyree Pryor, 30-yard run by Jaylyn Hubbard and a 66-yard touchdown pass from Holland to Joseph Lilly.
By halftime the Pirates had scored seven touchdowns on just 18 snaps and had outgained the Tigers 410-96 in total yards. With the running-clock mercy rule in effect, the Pirates had just two second-half possessions.
"I thought we executed very well from the first snap and pretty much the whole first half," Grider said. "We felt like if we could make a few plays early we could plant that seed of doubt in them. We got after them physically pretty good."
After South Pittsburg's first score, its defense set up the second when Corbin Cawood intercepted a pass. His younger brother Kellye picked off a pass later in the game.
Although South Pittsburg wound up with only 20 rushing attempts, senior running back Kyree Pryor finished with 107 yards and two touchdowns, averaging just more than 10 yards per carry. Fullback Sawyer Kelley added 92 yards on four carries.
"We've got a lot of weapons on offense that can put a whole lot of pressure on a defense to have to figure out who to try to stop," Grider said. "I really like the way this football team is playing right now."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.