If speed, power and size can overwhelm an opponent, then South Pittsburg is a quickly accelerating locomotive.
In the final game of the regular season, South Pittsburg defeated Region 3-1A foe Lookout Valley 47-6 Friday night to clinch second place and a first-round home game in the state playoffs next week.
The stingy Pirates held the Yellow Jackets to 61 yards of total offense.
"We had problems early moving the football," Lookout Valley coach David Dinger said. "We needed first downs, but we played defense pretty much the whole first half."
The Pirates established a physical tone early via their fierce, multi-headed running attack in the absence of starting quarterback Brayden Sanders.
Fullback Garrett Raulston capped off the first South Pittsburg drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. He forced the ball up the middle all night, adding three more rushing touchdowns from 5, 15, and 2 yards out. Raulston finished with 88 yards on 17 carries.
"He's the guy that's got to get us going," South Pittsburg coach Vic Grider said about his fullback. "When you establish the run inside, it opens up the edges."
South Pittsburg finished with 530 yards of total offense, all of which came on the ground. Ronto Tipton, Javien Beene and Jaylyn Hubbard each ran for a touchdown as well.
"We had four starters that didn't play tonight, and we've got to get some guys healthy going into next week. But I'm proud of our guys who stepped up and had to play," Grider said.
South Pittsburg will host Monterey, while Lookout Valley will travel to Cedar Hill to face Jo Byrns.
Contact Justin Dempsey at sports@timesfreepress.com.