SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — If clothes really do make the man, then orange is the new black for top-ranked South Pittsburg.
Trading in their traditional solid black uniforms for the seldom-worn, Halloween-inspired all-orange combo, the Pirates wasted no time in taking control of their TSSAA Region 3-1A championship showdown with cross-county rival and No. 8-ranked Whitwell on Thursday night.
Facing its fifth ranked opponent this season, South Pittsburg scored three touchdowns within its first 10 offensive plays — including two big-play scores just six snaps into the game — on the way to a convincing 42-7 win that wrapped up the program’s fifth straight region championship.
“In the first half, that’s about as efficient as we’ve been all season,” Pirates coach Wes Stone said. “We’ve struggled some in the first half on offense at times, but we were pretty sharp tonight. The passing game was really on point.”
Against a Whitwell defense that had allowed an average of just 14 points per game and had not given up more than 26 all season, South Pittsburg rolled up 416 total yards and averaged 10.7 yards per play.