Sardis Lions host Battle of Hwy. 431

    By Gene Stanley/Messenger Sports Correspondent

    As close as Sardis and Guntersville are to each other, physically, one would think it might have produced a good rivalry.
    Since Sardis has traditionally been a 3A team and the Wildcats have mostly been 4A, however, they haven’t played each other much.
    Just a few short years ago, Guntersville would’ve been almost a sure thing to win this game, as the Wildcats won a state championship in 2006. But this year, Sardis seemingly has the upper hand.
    But Lions coach Gene Hill isn’t overlooked the Wildcats by any means.
    “A lot of that is their schedule,” he said. “. If we had played that schedule, I couldn’t guarantee that we wouldn’t be 1-4.”
    Guntersville has already played Boaz (undefeated right now), Oneonta (undefeated so far), Fairview (with loss to Wildcats only loss thus far), St. Clair County (only one loss showing) and Arab (one loss so far).
    As for Sardis, the Lions are having a very heady year, offensively. Sardis has already scored 219 points for a 43.8 points per game average.
    Senior running back Toby Pee notched four touchdowns – three on the ground – against Geraldine last week. He finished with 127 rushing yards on 22 carries. Pee also caught three passes for 36 yards.
    “I hope Toby’s going to keep getting better,” Hill said. “Our quarterback (Will Scott) has been throwing the ball well and our receivers can catch, but Toby has to run well to keep them from stacking against the pass.”
Sardis hosts Battle of Hwy. 431 – page 6B
    The Lions can take a huge step toward a playoff berth and first-round home field advantage with a win this week. Sardis is currently tied with Oneonta and St. Clair County for the region lead.
    Also against Geraldine, Scott completed 13-of-19 passes for 213 yards. Kailon Robeson had seven receptions for 160 yards.
    Zack Childers had 20 tackles, followed Jesse Hubbard with 17, Braun Pee with 13 and Colton Salers with 10.