SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – The only thing Ronto Tipton couldn’t do Friday night was hold back an ear-to-ear grin.
After a mostly frustrating start to his senior football season while hobbled by injuries, South Pittsburg’s all-state athlete was finally healthy enough to showcase his talents.
And he showed out in front of a packed house at Beene Stadium as the Chattanooga area’s two top-ranked small-shool teams battled. Contributing in every phase of the game, Tipton helped guide Class 1A’s No. 1-ranked Pirates to a 27-16 win over 2A’s second-ranked Meigs County, snapping the Tigers’ 33-game regular-season winning streak that dated to 2016.
“This was my first game to be able to play both ways, and it felt great to be back out there,” said Tipton, who finished with eight carries for 124 yards and one touchdown, returned a punt 28 yards to set up another score and caught a 50-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to put his team in control.
“I saw the throw and I saw the defender and I just went to make a play,” explained Tipton, who was also in on six tackles. “This is going to help us down the road when we see good teams, because that was the best team we’ve seen so far and we beat them. That should give us a lot of confidence that we can play with anybody.”