Pick six for Presley

Sardis defender Trent Presley (6) leaps up to intercept a pass against Douglas and then return it 37 yards for a touchdown. Presley finished with 114 total yards from scrimmage with two total touchdowns, including a 47-yard touchdown pass and interception for touchdown, and a fumble recovery.

SARDIS CITY – Sardis coasted to its first 5A, Region 6 victory over Douglas after a blazing 43-point first half.

The Lions put points on the board in a hurry in the first quarter. Following a three-and-out by the Eagles’ offense, Sardis quarterback Trent Presley heaved a 47-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Hopper under heavy pressure after bobbling the snap twice. Trey Salers’ kick for the point after opened the Lions’ lead to 7-0 with 7:45 left in the first quarter. Salers finished 5-of-5 on PATs.

Almost three minutes later, Presley intercepted a pass from Eagles quarterback Jonathan Ray and took it 37 yards to the endzone, putting Sardis up 14-0. The Lions’ defense stifled Douglas’ offense by forcing three turnovers and allowing only nine yards in the first half.

“Defense is a major focus every week,” Sardis head coach Gene Hill said. “We really harp on defense. We go on defense first, usually to try and set the tone with our defense, and we did that tonight. Our guys played good.”

At 2:35 left in the first quarter, receiver Mason Golden put the Lions on the board again after taking an end-around from eight yards out to increase their lead to 21-0. Two plays later, Presley made another defensive play by recovering a fumble and returning to the 2-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by running back Luke Morris to increase the lead to 27-0. A two-point conversion was converted by Presley to go up 29-0.

In the second quarter, with 11:02 on the clock, running back Justin Fuller pounded the football into the end zone from 10 yards away to widen the Lions margin to 36-0. Then with under seven minutes left in the half, running back Johnny Corona burned the defense on a 16-yard run for touchdown to give Sardis a 43-0.

Douglas found the scoreboard late in the third quarter to narrow the Lions’ gap to 43-7 after running back Kevin James broke loose for a 16-yard touchdown run.

“This was a good win for us,” Hill said. “We got to play a lot of our young kids early, hopefully didn’t get anybody banged up and got to rest them after two really physical football games [against Etowah and Southside]. Hopefully we can regroup and pick it up for a tough, physical team in Geraldine next week.”

Presley finished with 115 total yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns, while Corona led the Lions’ rushing attack with 69 yards and one touchdown. For Douglas, running back Eli Coppett led the offense with 50 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Next week, Sardis (2-2,1-2) hosts Geraldine for its homecoming, while Douglas (0-4, 0-3) seeks its first win of the year at Brindlee Mountain.

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