By Ricky Smith/For Sand Mountain Reporter
NyNy Davis and Ethan Foster combined to rush for 232 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 5 Etowah to a 35-14 win over Boaz in Class 5A, Region 6 action on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Boaz.
Davis and Foster each carried the ball 11 times and scored twice. Davis (pictured above) rushed for 132 yards while Foster rushed for 100.
The game was the regular-season finale for both teams, as both will be off next week to prepare for the state playoffs on Nov. 8. The Blue Devils host Center Point in the first round.
Etowah improved to 9-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in Region 6. Boaz, which fell to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in region play, will travel to Mortimer Jordan in the first round.
Boaz received the game’s first scoring opportunity, as Foster fumbled on Etowah’s first play from scrimmage and Lorenzo Goss recovered for Boaz at the Blue Devil 38-yard line.
Quarterback Easton Hardin ran for 14 yards on first down to the 24, but the Pirates only netted six yards over the next three plays, and Gerardo Baeza was called on to attempt a 36-yard field goal.
A false start penalty pushed the ball back to the 23, so the field-goal attempt was from 41 yards and was short.
Etowah took over at its 20 and put together an eight-play drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by William Cox. Eric Edge’s point-after gave the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead at the 9:29 mark of the first.
After a Boaz punt on the ensuing possession, Etowah went 72 yards using 11 plays to increase the lead to 13-0. Foster scored on a 15-yard run with 1:52 left in the quarter. Boaz blocked the point-after.
Etowah increased its advantage to 19-0 on a two-play, 67-yard drive following another Boaz punt midway through the second quarter.
Davis capped it with a 35-yard run with 7:59 left in the first half. The two-point pass failed.
Boaz took the ensuing possession and drove 82 yards in 15 plays to score its first touchdown. The drive consumed more than seven minutes off the clock.
Facing fourth-and-two, Hardin threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Earnest. Baeza kicked the PAT, and Etowah led 19-7 at halftime.
Etowah extended its lead to 25-7 after the Blue Devils opened the second half with an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by Davis’ 15-yard run.
Edge kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the third quarter.
Camron Bethune recovered a fumble that gave Boaz possession at its 49. It set up the Pirates’ second touchdown.
Hardin threw a 29-yard pass to Logan Walls, then the touchdown came on a 22-yard pass to Carson Chamblee. Baeza’s extra point cut the lead to 28-14 with 7:29 left in the game.
On Etowah’s ensuing possession, Foster had his second touchdown of the game on a 28-yard run with 4:01 remaining. Edge added the PAT.