SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – This time impatience was a virtue. South Pittsburg made the most of very few offensive snaps Friday night, averaging 16 yards per play in claiming a 49-14 Class 1A second-round victory over Moore County.
While Moore County ran three times more offensive snaps, second-ranked South Pittsburg scored all seven of its touchdowns in four plays or less.
“That was one of the weirdest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Pirates coach Vic Grider said. “A lot of times we score so quick that our defense is out there more than we want. But tonight a lot of the reason we were on the field so long defensively was because we just couldn’t stop them.
“Moore County did a nice job of mixing up their plays, and it was frustrating.”
South Pittsburg (9-2) will host fourth-ranked Gordonsville (9-2) in next week’s quarterfinals. It will be the 11th time those teams have met in the postseason.
The Pirates led by just one going into the second quarter but scored two touchdowns in the first 33 seconds of that period. The first came on a 55-yard pass from Travis Millard to Antonio Chubb. The Pirates intercepted a pass on the next snap and Chubb scored again one play later.
Moore County, which advanced to the second round for the first time in 10 years, ran 79 total plays to South Pittsburg’s 26. While the Pirates were without five injured starters, including three linemen, senior running back Raquis Hale rushed for 235 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass to set up a Pirates score.
“This game was frustrating because it seemed like we hardly ever had the ball,” Hale said. “We know that teams are going to line up and run right at us, and we have to do a better job of stopping it and getting off the field.
“We knew we were the better team. We just had to play like it, and there were times we didn’t do that on defense.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.
Star: South Pittsburg running back Raquis Hale ran for 235 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass.
Up next: South Pittsburg (9-2) hosts Gordonsville (9-2) in the quarterfinals. Moore County ends the season 7-5.