By Roger Scott | Special to Southern Torch

PISGAH, Ala. — In a highly-anticipated showdown between neighboring teams, Sylvania’s offense ran wild and the defense had six takeaways against Pisgah en route to a 34-7 victory Friday night.

Braiden Thomas and Aiden Parham found room all night behind an offensive line that created space for the running backs, while the Rams’ defense forced turnovers that killed several promising drives for the Eagles.

“I was really pleased with our run game — our line and our backs. We missed a few blocks up front, but we were able to run the ball well,” said Sylvania Head Coach Tyler Vann.

“On defense, we forced six turnovers — and they were forced — our guys had to make plays to make them happen.”

Pisgah received the opening kick, and on its first play handed off to Legion McCrary, who ran around left end for a big gain that included a penalty at the end of the run. 

Pisgah was flagged for holding on the next play and then missed on a pass, but McCrary was able to reverse field on second down for a 22-yard gain. On 3^rd-and- 4, the Rams’ defense stopped Eagles’ quarterback Mason Holcomb on a designed run and broke up a fourth down pass attempt to take over on downs.

Sylvania quarterback Jaxon Smith was intercepted by Luke Gilbert on its opening drive, and the Eagles took over on its own 30-yard line.

After a 15-yard gain through the air, McCrary gained another first down on the ground and the Eagles continued to chew up yards with another first down on a pass from Holcomb to Gilbert. 

Holcomb moved the ball to the 3-yard line on a quarterback keeper, then McCrary punched it in for Pisgah’s only score of the evening with 2:07 left in the first quarter. Dalton Johnson added the PAT for a 7-0 lead in favor of the Eagles.

On Sylvania’s first play after the kickoff, Parham ran 63 yards for the score. Conner Andrade’s PAT was good, and the game was tied at 7-7.

After the kickoff, Holcomb completed a pass to Jakob Kirby for a first down, but Sylvania’s Jonah Gurley snagged the interception on the next play.  The Rams moved the ball on the ground behind Parham and Sylvania quarterback Jaxon Smith, and Thomas capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown. The PAT was good, and Sylvania held a 14-7 lead with 9:40 in the second quarter.

Pisgah navigated down field on its next drive, but a holding penalty against the Eagles erased a touchdown throw from Holcomb to Grant Smith. A few plays later, John Robert Dixon intercepted Holcomb in the end zone for a touchback.

“I was really pleased with our defense. We flew to the football. When you get multiple hats on the ball, you can afford to miss one or two tackles,” Vann said. 

“I look forward to seeing what our defense can do the rest of the year,” he said.

Thomas had a 46-yard gain on the next drive, and then punched it in from two yards out for the score. The PAT was no good, and Sylvania increased its lead to 20-7 just before halftime.

Sylvania received the kickoff to open the second half, and the Eagles defense stayed stout and forced a turnover on downs on its own 42-yard line.

The Rams returned the favor and forced a Pisgah punt with 9:19 in the third quarter. After a first down on the ground, Smith connected with freshman receiver Landon Watkins, who outran defenders for a 71-yard touchdown. Andrade’s PAT was good, and Sylvania blew the game open at 27-7 with 6:23 in the third quarter.

“If we’re going to make a deep run in the playoffs, we have to throw it better. We want to be multiple, and it’s something we’re going to work on moving forward, Vann said. “Jaxon did some good things, and I had us in some bad plays.” 

Pisgah cost itself field position on the kickoff with a penalty, and started the next drive at its 15-yard line.

Luke Gilbert took a screen pass from Holcomb for a big gain, but Thomas stripped the ball at the 44-yard line on the tackle and Sylvania gained possession of the ball.

Kirby intercepted Smith’s pass on the next drive and returned it to the Sylvania 47-yard line to give Pisgah a spark, but Dixon and Gurley broke up a long pass in the end zone, and Brant Kittle brought down Holcomb on fourth down to give the Rams the ball.

Parham then ripped off a 34-yard gain, Smith picked 14 yards on a run to the 10-yard line, and Thomas took a screen pass in for the score. Andrade was good again on the PAT, and the Rams went up 34-7 with just over eleven minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Pisgah opened its next possession at its 36-yard line, and on third-and-12, Holcomb found a streaking Kirby on a pass to the Sylvania 16-yard line. Kittle pressured Holcomb as he dropped back and freshman Travis Owens scooped the interception for another Sylvania takeaway.

On a third-and-6 play that capped Sylvania’s impressive performance on the ground, a host of Rams piled in behind Thomas for a 26-yard, rugby-style gain. Sylvania was unable to complete the drive, however, and turned the ball over on downs at the Pisgah 48-yard line.

Holcomb completed a 17-yard strike to Smith, and hit Kirby on a screen pass, but Kittle and Owens again combined to knock the ball loose. Owens recovered the fumble at the Sylvania 36-yard line, and the Rams ran out the clock to close the game.

Sylvania finished with 358 yards rushing and more than 460 yards of total offense. Parham and Thomas both eclipsed 100 yards; Thomas finished with 147 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns, while Parham finished with 168 yards on 16 carries. Watkins finished with 87 yards receiving, and Smith was 5-of-10 for 103 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

For Pisgah, Holcomb finished with 217 yards passing and three interceptions, while McCrary had 65 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

Sylvania and Pisgah both return to region play this week. The Rams are at home against Glencoe, while the Eagles host Whitesburg Christian.