By Ry Parker/Daily Sentinel
Will Burrow scored three touchdowns and Brady Carson rushed for 166 yards to lead Section to a Class 2A, Region 7 35-15 win over visiting Gaston on Friday.
Section (1-1, 1-0) ran for 264 yards and closed with 358 total yards.
Gaston (0-2, 0-1) managed just 136 total yards, 119 of which came on the ground.
Mitchell Smith ran 11 times for 66 yards for the Bulldogs while Taylor Hawkins had 37 yards on five carries.
Dusty Martin tackled Hawkins in the end zone for a safety to give Section a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, and touchdown runs of one and seven yards by Burrow gave the Lions a 15-0 halftime lead.
Caleb Henshaw’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Noah Crawford put Section in front 21-0 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
Gaston answered with a 10-yard touchdown run from Hawkins to pull within 21-7, but Section countered two minutes later with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Henshaw to Avery Sartin and Alex Hernandez’s extra point to push the lead back to 28-7.
Burrow’s 6-yard touchdown run with 5:55 and Hernandez’s PAT gave the Lions a 35-7 advantage.
Gaston capped the scoring with 5:39 remaining when Albert Douglas returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Douglas ran for the two-point conversion.
Gaston resumes region play on Friday at home against Ider.