SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – Despite having gained more than 100 yards in every game this season, Raquis Hale had done so as quietly as that feat can be accomplished. Friday night, South Pittsburg’s senior running back had the breakout game he had been hoping for, as he burst loose for 251 yards and four touchdowns to lead a 41-6 nondistrict victory over Boyd-Buchanan.
“It felt real good to get going early,” said Hale, who averaged 18 yards per carry. “I told the line to just give me a little hole and I would use my speed to make some big plays.
“We had some guys out to start the game, so I knew I had to step up and take on more of a leadership role and get us going.”
With two starting receivers suspended for the first quarter for a violation of team rules, the Pirates put the ball in Hale’s hand more often. That move paid off immediately as Hale bolted 51 yards for a touchdown on the game’s second play and added scoring runs of 12 and 69 yards in the first half, rolling up 181 rushing yards by halftime to help the Pirates to a 35-0 lead.
That first-half total put Hale over 1,000 yards for the season and he continued to add to that total, breaking off a 70-yard scoring run on his only carry of the second half.
“Every time he touches the ball he’s a physical, aggressive runner who gets up the field in a hurry,” Pirates coach Vic Grider said. “He’s a special player and he’s going to be our go-to guy down the stretch.
“I’m awfully glad he plays for us.”
Just days after reclaiming the top spot in Class 1A, the Pirates (6-1) looked every bit the part by outgaining Class 2A’s sixth-ranked Buccaneers 410-198 in total yards. The Pirates, who average 51 points per game, invoked the mercy rule for the sixth time this season.
South Pittsburg’s defense was also impressive in the first half, limiting the Bucs to 41 rushing yards and three times holding on fourth-and-short situation, including Matthew Allen’s 77-yard interception return midway through the second quarter.
When receivers Antonio Chubb and Demetric Johnson returned on the first play of the second quarter, the Pirates got them involved quickly with a speed sweep to Chubb, followed by a 30-yard scoring pass from Travis Millard to Johnson. Millard finished with 132 passing yards.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.