By Ricky Smith/For Sand Mountain Reporter
Logan Gaskin threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Sardis to a 36-20 win last Friday (Oct. 30) over neighboring rival and host Boaz.
Gaskin completed 18-of-29 passes for 230 yards. Two of his touchdown passes went to Austin Hallmark, who caught seven passes for 118 yards. He also led the Lions in rushing with 45 yards on six carries.
Sardis closed out the season at 5-5 while beating the Pirates for just the second time in the last 18 tries.
Boaz quarterback Luke Strawn also passed for three scores, two to Trey Knott. Strawn completed 8-of-18 for 143 yards. The Pirates closed out their season at 2-8.
Sardis got on the scoreboard first by way of a seven-play, 53-yard drive capped by Gaskin’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Hallmark with 3:23 left in the first quarter. Javin Smith added the point-after.
Boaz answered on the ensuing possession with a five-play, 62-yard drive. Tyler Aaron began the possession with consecutive 11-yard runs to the Sardis 40-yard line. Three plays later, Strawn threaded the needle to Knott for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 left in the first quarter. The two-point pass failed and Sardis led 7-6.
The score remained the same until the opening possession of the third quarter, when Boaz drove 62 yards using seven plays to take its first lead. Beginning at the Pirate 38, Cameron Copeland ran for 12 yards to midfield. Two plays later, Strawn fumbled but recovered at the Boaz 43. But Sardis was flagged for a personal foul on the play, which put the ball at the Lion 42.
Strawn ran for 11 yards, and then hit Knott on a 31-yard touchdown pass with 9:02 left in the third quarter. Strawn ran for the two-point conversion to give Boaz a 14-7 lead.
On the second play of the following drive, Chanler Powell intercepted Gaskin at the Boaz 17. But on the Pirates’ first play following the pick, Aaron fumbled and Sardis recovered at the 20.
Hallmark rushed to the 5, but an illegal block pushed the ball back to the 15 and a Lion unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the 30.
After an incomplete pass, Hallmark rushed for 12 to the 18, then Tristan Gomillion dropped him for a 7-yard loss back to the 25.
On fourth down, Gaskin scrambled and found Justin Shirley alone at the 5, who caught the pass and walked into the end zone with 6:45 remaining in the third. Smith added the PAT to tie the game at 14.
Sardis regained the lead at 20-14 with 2:26 left in the third on Tristan Scroggins’ 6-yard run. This completed a seven-play, 53-yard drive. Smith’s PAT was blocked by Deonta Tillman.
Boaz tied the game at 20 on the next possession on the Strawn-to-Aaron connection. Facing third-and-11 from its 37, Strawn tossed a screen pass to Aaron, who hauled it in and rambled 48 yards to the Sardis 15.
Three plays later, Aaron took the same screen pass in for a 9-yard touchdown. The two-point run failed and the game remained tied at 20 with 25 seconds left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter belonged to Sardis.
The Lions regained the lead with 11:40 left on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Gaskin to Hallmark. Smith’s PAT made it 27-20.
Sardis added a safety with 8:15 left after a Gaskin pooch punt was downed inside the 1. On the first play, Strawn was dropped in the end zone and the score was 29-20.
The Lions took the ensuing free kick and drove 44 yards using 10 plays to put the game out of reach.
Gaskin scored the touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:58 remaining. Smith kicked the PAT to add the final point.
