By Jason Bowen/The Daily Sentinel
The North Jackson High football team used a familiar formula to hand Sardis a Class 4A Region 7 setback on Thursday (Sept. 15) in Stevenson.
The No. 9-ranked Chiefs used a strong rushing attack and stingy defense to post a 48-28 victory.
North Jackson (3-1, 3-0) ran for 424 yards, while its first-team defense allowed only 143 total yards – Sardis had only 1 rushing yard on eight carries in the first half – and one score before its starters left the game midway through the third quarter after the Chiefs built a 48-7 lead.
North Jackson also forced four Sardis turnovers, getting fumble recoveries from Trey Harris, Jonathan Johnson and Travis Woodall. Kade Abbott had an interception.
Offensively, the Chiefs topped the 40-point mark for the third consecutive week. Quarterback Trey Harris had 279 total yards, including 228 rushing on 14 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 15, 16 and 75 yards. Running back Omar Brown, who had rushed for a combined 561 yards and 10 TDs in his last two games, totaled 165 yards on 21 carries and found the end zone three more times on touchdown runs of 7, 6 and 16 yards.
North Jackson also got a 31-yard touchdown run from Abbott in the first quarter as it built a 20-0. The Chiefs led 27-7 at halftime before putting the game away with three scores in the first eight minutes of the third quarter.
Sardis (1-4, 0-2) scored three times in the final 13 minutes. Quarterback Logan Gaskin, who was 16-of-27 in passing for 207 yards, completed touchdown passes of 26 yards to Jacob Hopper, 35 yards to Jake Ross and 5 yards to Drew Vaughn before rushing for a 1-yard touchdown.
Gaskin ran for 56 yards on 13 carries, while Vaughn had 41 rushing yards on six attempts. Mason Golden had five catches for 58 yards, while Vaughn had four catches for 15 and Hopper had three catches for 60.
The Lions have an open week before hosting Westminster Christian on Sept. 30.