By RICKY SMITH Correspondent
GERALDINE — Jordan Lankford and Jon Beck Wade combined for 371 yards rushing and six touchdowns to lead Class 3A, No. 9 Geraldine to a 49-20 win over Class 5A Boaz on Friday.
Lankford rushed for 250 yards on 17 carries and two scores while Wade had 121 yards on 19 carries and scored four touchdowns.
Geraldine scored on each possession of the game.
Boaz got the game’s first possession and went three and out.
The Bulldogs took possession at their 14-yard line and drove 86 yards using 16 plays. They scored on the first play of the second quarter on a 6-yard run by Wade. The point-after failed.
Boaz took the lead on the ensuing possession on a 13-play, 68-yard drive. Mason Gaither caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Pierce. Jose Arreguin kicked the PAT to give Boaz a 7-6 lead with 6:41 left in the first half.
Lankford put Geraldine back in front on the first play of the next possession on an 80-yard run. Wade ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-7 lead.
Boaz tied the game on the following drive on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Pierce to Sage Bennett with 5:35 left in the half. This capped a four-play, 63-yard drive.
Geraldine regained the lead for good with an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
Wade capped the drive on a 29-yard touchdown run with 43 seconds left in the half. Alberto Sanchez kicked the PAT for a 21-14 halftime lead.
Geraldine scored on its first three possessions of the second half to put the game away.
Wade and Joe Garcia scored on 1-yard runs followed by a 56-yard run by Lankford. The last touchdown came after Lankford recovered a Boaz fumble on the last play of the third quarter.
Garcia kicked all three PATs, and the Bulldogs led 42-14 with 10:23 left in the game.
Boaz had an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with Pierce throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jakai Hudgins with 8:09 remaining. The point-after was blocked.
Wade closed out the scoring with a 3-yard score with 2:09 left.
Geraldine finished the game with 511 total yards, with 483 coming on the ground.
Tristan Childers led Boaz with 84 yards on 14 carries. Pierce completed 14-of-24 passes for 146 yards.
Both teams return to region play Friday, Oct. 4. Geraldine (4-1) hosts Collinsville while Boaz (3-2) travels to Sardis.
