Senior Dayne Sanford scored three rushing touchdowns and ran for 139 yards in the first quarter, leading Pillow Academy to a 32-3 victory over Kirk Academy in Grenada on Friday.
The Mustangs got on the board within a minute after kickoff when Sanford rocketed down the field for an 82-yard touchdown on the first offensive possession of the game for Pillow. Sophomore Wes Griswold followed up the drive with a good PAT.
The Mustang’s defense held Kirk Academy to just two yards on four tries on their first drive, giving Pillow a golden opportunity to punch it into the endzone. Sanford took a handoff from senior quarterback Drew Lamb and pummeled his way in for a four yard touchdown. Senior kicker Lawson Harvey attempted the PAT, but was sacked in the backfield.
In the next offensive possession for the Mustangs, the offense took an eight-play drive 72 yards down the field, ending with Sanford running a 24-yard touchdown, his third and final of the game.
As dominant as Pillow was from the ground game, not all of Pillow’s points came from rushing. With 1:09 left in the first quarter, Lamb completed a pass to senior John Heston Powers for a 24-yard touchdown. Lamb would finish the game 2-of-3 on passes for a total of 41 yards.
Pillow would get its last touchdown with 7:30 left in the third quarter off a eight-yard run by senior Hayes Bennett. Bennett finished with 41 rushing yards off five attempts, the third highest leading rusher of the game.
Kirk’s offense struggled all game from the defensive presence of Pillow. The Raiders tried to find some rhythm with the run game, but a dominant Mustang defense held Kirk to under 10 yards every drive. Head coach Jim Crowder said he thought his defense played well.
“I thought we were very physical,” Crowder said. “I thought we tackled pretty well for a first game, and we flew to the football.”
Bennett and senior Andrew Brock led the defense with three solo tackles each. Senior Tate Galey and sophomore Chamberlin McClain also chipped in two solo tackles each.
Friday’s matchup between Pillow and Kirk Academy is the 37th time the two faced each other on the gridiron. Pillow leads the series with a 32-5 victory margin, and is currently on a 20 game winning streak against the Raiders. The last time Kirk won the matchup was on Oct. 28, 1994.
Pillow will play its next game at North Delta Academy on Friday.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-723 or jconerly@gwcommonwealth.com.
