Photo: Sardis’ Alex Davis (15) pursues Hokes Bluff’s Noah Sprayberry during the Lions’ 16-14 victory in high school football on October 28 in Sardis City. (Courtesy of Alex Chaney)
Sardis ended its season on a winning note with a 16-14 victory over Etowah County neighbor Hokes Bluff in high school football on October 28 in Sardis City.
The Lions finished the year at 4-6, in the process winning three more games than the past two seasons combined. Sardis went 1-9 last year and 0-10 in 2020. It was also the program’s first victory over Hokes Bluff since the 2015 season.
The Lions jumped out to a 16-0 lead courtesy of Brian Chapman’s 2-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion pass to Eli Morton at 6:44 of the first quarter and Chapman’s 10-yard scoring strike to Blaze Gerhart and two-point conversion pass to Carson Gillian at 6:21 of the second frame.
The Eagles (4-6) drew within eight points via Bryce Whitaker’s 4-yard TD run and Conner Masters’ two-point conversion pass to Jaylen Simmons with 1:11 left before halftime.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Hokes Bluff cut the deficit to 16-14 on Whitaker’s 12-yard touchdown run at 10:51 of the fourth. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, however, and the Lion defense kept the visitors off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Chapman was 14 for 28 in passing for 75 yards. Morton had six receptions for 94 yards, while Garrett Burns caught four passes for 12 yards. Gerhart paced the Sardis ground game with 91 yards on 23 carries.
For Hokes Bluff, Masters completed eight of 22 passing attempts for 119 yards. Anderson Morgan had five receptions for 99 yards. Whitaker rushed for 72 yards on 11 carries, while Noah Sprayberry ran 10 times for 39 yards.
Simmons finished with nine tackles, followed by Cole Stone with eight, Coleman McGinnis with seven and Layton Horne with six. Simmons also had a sack.