By Ricky Smith/Sand Mountain Reporter
Tim Kalascheck kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to lead Sardis to a 17-14 come-from-behind win over Boaz on Friday (Nov. 1) at BHS.
Sardis, which ended a four-game losing streak and finished 6-4, trailed 14-0 in the second quarter before rallying.
The win also ended the Lions’ 15-game losing streak in the series to the Pirates. It was Sardis’ first victory in the series since 1991.
Boaz (2-8) led 14-7 before Sardis scored 10 points in the final 3:31 of the game.
Keenan Lewis was the workhorse for the Lions for the first three and a half quarters of the game, rushing for 221 yards on 32 carries and scoring both Lion touchdowns.
But in those last two scoring drives, it was the aerial duo of Will Scott to Brett Rains that put Sardis in position to score.
After Boaz’s Leo Aragon barely missed wide right on a 27-yard field goal with 4:42 left in the game that would’ve given the Pirates a 17-7 lead, Sardis took over at its 20-yard line.
On second-and-eight, Scott hit Rains over the middle and he rambled 66 yards to the Boaz 12.
Scott kept the ball for 11 yards to the 1, then Lewis scored the touchdown with 3:31 left in the game. Kalascheck tied it 14-14 with the PAT.
Boaz began the next possession on its 37, but three plays netted only two yards, and Wesley Burns’ punt was downed at the Lion 17 with 2:13 left in the game.
Lewis picked up 23 yards on the first three plays. A 13-yard run by Scott put the ball at the Boaz 47 before he threw for 16 yards to Rains to the 31.
Sardis was then penalized 10 yards for holding back to the 41.
On third-and-20, Scott threw to Rains, who made a one-handed 32-yard catch at the Pirate 9 with three seconds left.
Sardis called timeout before sending Kalascheck out for the game-winner.
Boaz got the first scoring opportunity in the game, as Kennedy Nicholson picked off a Scott pass on the game’s first possession and returned it 38 yards to the Lion 17.
The Pirates got as far as the 10 before turning the ball over on downs.
Boaz scored first with 10:19 left in the second quarter, driving 62 yards on 13 plays. Clay Culbert scoring on a 1-yard run. Aragon added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
Sardis was forced to punt on the next possession, and Boaz put together a five-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ended on a Nicholson 12-yard touchdown run. Brandon Holland had a 53-yard run in the drive to the 12.
Aragon added the point-after for a 14-0 lead with 5:25 left in the half.
Sardis took the ensuing possession and drove 64 yards on five plays to get on the board. Lewis scored on a 1-yard run with 3:31 left in the half. Kalascheck added the PAT to cut the lead to 14-7 at the half.
Isaac Scroggins returned the second-half kickoff 52 yards for Boaz to the Sardis 28, but the Pirates couldn’t get any closer than the 25. Aragon’s 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Brett Rains.
Scott finished 10-of-22 in passing for 165 yards. Rains caught six of those passes for 135 yards.