South Pittsburg’s Colton Blevins (50) becomes emotional after losing the 2011 TSSAA Division I class 1A championship game to Wayne County at Tennessee Tech University’s Tucker Stadium with a final score of 27-14 early Friday morning.COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — In two of its playoff wins the past few weeks, South Pittsburg had to come from behind. Whatever answers the Pirates had Friday were used up in the first half and they came up short, 27-14, to unbeaten Wayne County in their bid for a second straight Class 1A championship.
When asked of his initial postgame thoughts, South Pittsburg coach Vic Grider responded, “Frustration.
“I’m not sure we played our best. They outplayed us. We couldn’t get enough stops, and when we did we shot ourselves in the foot [offensively].”
A 71-yard Demetric Johnson touchdown run was erased by a holding call early in the first period. A likely touchdown drive — with a chance to take the lead in the third quarter — was stopped by first an illegal-procedure penalty at Wayne County’s 2-yard line and then a mishandled shotgun snap that resulted in a sack and finally a judgment no-call on possible pass interference in the end zone on fourth down.
And a potential long interception return was missed when the defender batted the ball rather than pulling it in.