By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter
Fans who attended last Friday’s Sardis-St. Clair County contest were treated to a matchup of Class 4A, Region 6’s top running backs in seniors Toby Pee of the Lions and Kartez Carr of the Saints.
Pee scored four touchdowns and passed for another to propel Sardis to a 48-40 triumph, which kept the Lions tied for first place in the Region 6 standings with unbeaten Oneonta.
The Lions improved to 6-1, 5-0 as they posted their sixth consecutive victory.
St. Clair County slipped to 3-4, 3-2. It was the Saints’ third consecutive loss.
Pee rushed 23 times for 165 yards and touchdowns of four, one and 60 yards. He caught a team-high six passes for 115 yards, including a 67-yard catch-and-run for a score.
Pee threw a 15-yard halfback pass to Jared Shirley in the fourth quarter for the Lions’ final touchdown, which proved to be the decisive points.
The Pee-to-Shirley connection made it 48-34 with 4:48 remaining.
Kailon Robeson picked off the Saints’ Matthew Hicks at Sardis 5-yard line and returned it to the 30 with 2:56 left, but the Lions lost a fumble at their 22 with 1:54 to play.
Two plays later, Hicks found Carr for a 16-yard TD pass, cutting it to 48-40 with 1:30 on the clock. The Lions, however, stuffed Carr on the two-point conversion attempt.
Seth Smith recovered St. Clair County’s onside kick at his 48, and Sardis ran out the clock.
Carr delivered a phenomenal performance, rushing 29 times for 296 yards. He scored on a 54-yard run in the first half and added second-half TD runs of 15 and three yards.
Braun Pee scored on a 3-yard run in the first half for Sardis, while quarterback Will Scott ran 12 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
Scott was 15-of-18 passing for 217 yards and a touchdown. Shirley had four catches for 58 yards, while Robeson had four receptions for 48 yards.
Sardis’ Logan Hilbrandt recovered a fumble to set up his team’s first touchdown of the night in the opening quarter.
Zack Childers led the Lions in tackles with 14, followed by Braun Pee with 13, Colton Salers and Bryan Noblitt with 10 each and Jesse Hubbard with seven.
The Lions hosts Fairview on Friday in more region action.