Pirates defense dominant in a battle of No. 1 teams
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — In a battle of number ones, zero was the key number.
That’s the jersey number of South Pittsburg all-state quarterback Kamden Wellington, who put the offense on his shoulders in the second half, and it was also the number of yards the team’s defense allowed on three fourth-down stops, which proved key in an 18-6 win over TSSAA Division II-A’s top-ranked Middle Tennessee Christian School on Friday night.
The Pirates (7-0), who are No. 1 in Class A, stuffed the Cougars for a 2-yard loss on fourth down at the South Pittsburg 10 in the first half and had two more stops for no gain in their own territory.
“At halftime, we knew we had missed several big plays, so the chances would be there. We had to help the defense out because they had carried us in the first half,” said Wellington, who was 8-of-12 passing for 90 yards and a touchdown and also had a hard-nosed 61 rushing yards with another score.
“I feel like teams come in and think I’m just a quarterback and not a good runner, but they don’t realize that I used to be a wing-T fullback before I became a quarterback, so it fires me up to know that I can run the ball and be physical.”
After a scoreless first half, the Pirates found the end zone on their first possession of the third quarter. Two plays after a tough 15-yard gain by Wellington in which he ran through two defenders, he finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run for the game’s first points.
On their next possession, it was Wellington’s arm that helped pushed the Pirates’ lead to 12-0 as he connected with Cavin Gilley on a 25-yard touchdown pass to the left corner of the end zone.
“We feel like we put the whole state on notice, and nobody can beat us when we’re on,” Wellington said. “Compared to last year, our seniors have really stepped up and made a difference.”
Another of those seniors, linebacker Jamarion Farrior, was just as much of a factor for a dominating defense as Wellington was on offense.
The veteran Cougars (6-1), who started nine seniors on both sides of the ball, came into the matchup averaging 38 points and 336 rushing yards per game, as well as 11.4 yards per carry running mostly behind 6-foot-7, 280-pound Jesse Perry, who is committed to Tennessee. MTCS was held to 117 yards on the ground (2.9 per carry).
“I just came to play fast and physical. Just fly around to the ball,” said Farrior, who led the team in tackles, forced one of the two fumbles the Pirates recovered, and ran for 50 yards and the Pirates’ final touchdown, which covered 24 yards.
“This means a lot. Last year teams just ran it right at us, and we couldn’t stop the run. That was our emphasis before this season, and it shows now,” Farrior added. “Most definitely we needed this test. When we get to the third or fourth round (of the playoffs), we know we won’t see any teams like some of the ones we’ve played earlier. This game will really help us a lot. We had to come in physically and mentally focused for the whole week to be ready to beat a good team.”