Pirates pummel Whitwell in 66-6 victory

SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — For top-ranked South Pittsburg to return to where it wants to be this season, it first needed to reclaim control of its own county and Region 3-1A. Consider the first of those objectives complete as the top-ranked Pirates scored on 10 of their 11 possessions Friday and dominated in every aspect on the way to a 66-6 region win over cross-county rival Whitwell at Beene Stadium.

With two league games remaining, the Pirates (7-0, 2-0) now turn their attention to claiming another region title before the playoffs begin.

“Tonight was about making a statement,” said Pirates fullback Cameron Trussell, who ran for 160 yards on just five carries and scored two touchdowns. “They got us last year so we had to go out there and remind everybody who we are again.

“Our line made it real easy for all of our backs. We all had huge holes to run through all night.”

Despite missing two backfield starters, including leading rusher Hunter Frame, with injuries, the Pirates averaged 17 yards per play, rushing for 391, and junior quarterback Brayden Sanders threw for 123. He completed 8 of 11 passes, including a TD toss.

After splitting four meetings with Whitwell the previous two seasons — two wins for each in the regular season and playoffs — with only a five-point scoring difference, the Pirates jumped out to a 47-0 lead by halftime of their 20th straight home win.

“The fortunate thing for us is we’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays,” Pirates coach Vic Grider said. “We’re missing some guys that hopefully we’ll get back soon, but I can’t say enough about the job Sanders is doing. He’s the difference in our team from last year, because we have the ability to throw it whenever we want.

“Defensively we’ve progressed a lot since the beginning of the season, and we just seem to find a way every week to hang our hat on that side of the ball.”

South Pittsburg held Whitwell to zero or minus yardage on 22 of its 38 snaps and forced a fumble that set up the first score of the second half.

Senior running back Ronto Tipton ran for 81 yards and two TDs and also had a 30-yard scoring reception, and sophomore DeAndre Kelly ran for 72 yards and three TDs as the Pirates outgained the Tigers 513-109 in total yards.