Sonoraville skid continues with shutout on home field
The Sonoraville Phoenix dropped their fifth game in a row Friday night 32-0 against the visiting Adairsville Tigers in what was mostly a defensive battle with a couple of turnovers and big scoring plays mixed in to keep it interesting.
Coach Denver Pate told his players afterward that while he hates to lose, he knows they fought hard and he was proud of their effort on the field.
“I thought you defensively gave us a chance, but when you can’t score points offensively it’s hard to win games,” Pate said.
The Phoenix gained a couple of first downs on their first possession of the game but were ultimately forced to punt. The defense then held Adairsville to a threeand-out, but Sonoraville returner Brant Bryant fumbled the punt, and the Adairsville recovery put the Tigers on the Phoenix 12-yard line.
Senior running back Jamaury Johnson scored from 3 yards out a few plays later, and then quarterback Conner Crunkleton ran in the two-point try to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Phoenix QB Brady Lackey and wide receiver Nick Beddington hooked up for a 40-yard completion on the team’s following drive, but the Phoenix turned the ball over after a failed fourthdown try.
Sonoraville’s Bryant recovered a fumble on Adairsville’s next drive, but the Phoenix offense was unable to take advantage, punting on their next two drives and then running out the half on their third.
In between, Adairsville missed a 17-yard field goal and then later completed a 35-yard field goal, setting the score at 11-0 at the half.
The first three (non-special teams) games of the third quarter dramatically changed the game.
First, Adairsville’s Crunkleton connected with Courtney Slocum on a short pass on the first play of the second half, but Slocum broke a couple of tackles and scrambled for an 80-yard touchdown. Extra point good, score moves to 18-0.
Next, on Sonoraville’s first play, Adairsville safety Chris Roper picked off a Lackey pass and made it back to Sonoraville’s 25-yard line.
Then, on Adairsville’s first play, Crunkleton connected with Evan Sanders for the 25-yard touchdown. The extra point moved the score to 25-0.
The teams then traded ineffective drives for the remainder of the second half, until a failed fourth-down try by Sonoraville gave Adairsville the ball on the Phoenix 44-yard line.
A few plays later Tiger freshman Jonathan Gough broke off a 14-yard touchdown run to seal the win. The extra point set the final 32-0 score.
Sonoraville (2-5, 0-5) will travel to LaFayette (4-3, 4-1) next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. region matchup.
Adairsville ( 5- 2, 4- 1) will host a region matchup against Rockmart (6-1, 5-0) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.