As prep football’s regular season hits the home stretch toward the playoffs, South Pittsburg is hitting its stride.
In a battle of state-ranked TSSAA Class 1A programs, the second-ranked Pirates came up big in a 56-0 region road win over eighth-ranked and previously unbeaten Sale Creek on Friday night at Ron Cox Field.
South Pittsburg (7-1, 2-0 Region 3-1A) needed just three plays to set the tone as Caden Jones connected with Dayon Cooper on a 45-yard touchdown pass on a slant route. The Pirates’ second possession began at their 1-yard line, but they chewed up 99 yards in eight plays, with JaMychal Buckner scoring the first of his three first-half touchdowns on a 16-yard run.
From there, South Pittsburg buried the Panthers (7-1, 1-1) under an avalanche of 35 second-quarter points.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)