Jack Tchienchou returned two kickoff for touchdowns in the first half, and No. 8 St. Pius pulled away in the second thanks to a great defensive effort to defeat Southwest DeKalb 33-13 in a Region 5-5A home game Friday night.
Tchienchou, an all-state pick as a sophomore last season, ran back the opening kickoff 80 yards and a second kickoff 70 yards, but Southwest DeKalb answered those scores with touchdown passes from Sadir Ryan.
The score was 16-13 at halftime until the momentum shifted at the end of the third quarter.
Southwest Dekalb was down six points, threatening to score on the 10-yard line after a 31-yard reception from Armond Davis. An erratic snap sent the ball flying back to the 22.
A few plays later, Ryan was sacked for a loss of 10 by Shug Bentley and Brendan Nerbonne that knocked the Panthers out of field-goal range, forcing a punt.
St. Pius would go on to score a touchdown set up by Liam Whitlark’s 27-yard scamper that put the game on ice and gave St. Pius a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter.
“They had to get used to the game speed a little bit early in the first half,” first-year St. Pius coach Chad Garrison said. “To their credit, they battled and didn’t get out of their coverages. We figured things out on the run, and a couple of tweaks by our defensive staff made things happen for us in the second half.”
St. Pius finished with 39 carries for 205 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Southwest DeKalb played well in the fist half and forced an interception to stifle some St. Pius first-half momentum.
“Southwest DeKalb did a good job of bottling us up in the first half,” Garrison said. “We were fortunate to have two first-half kickoff returns for touchdowns.”
Mishaps like penalties and an unforced error in the red zone put a damper on Southwest Dekalb’s hopes of an upset.
Ryan was 10-of-24 passing for 161 yards. His main target, Davis, finished with three catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
“Their quarterback has a strong arm on him,” Garrison said. “He can flick the ball 55 yards like it’s nothing. He’s a talented kid.”
The victory put St. Pius (4-2, 2-0) in a first-place tie with 10th-ranked Decatur (6-0, 2-0) in region play. Southwest DeKalb fell to 2-4, 1-1.
St. Pius will be home next Friday against Lithonia, and Southwest DeKalb will play M.L. King.
St. Pius 13-3-3-14 - 33
Southwest DeKalb 7-6-0-0 - 13
SP - Jack Tchienchou 80 kickoff return (run failed)
SWD - Armond Davis 14 pass from Sadir Ryan (Malcolm Smith kick)
SP - Tchienchou 70 kickoff return (Jack Galvez kick)
SPX - Galvez 27 FG
SWD - Davis 62 pass from Ryan (kicked failed)
SP- Galvez 45 FG
SP- Liam Whitlark 1 run (Galvez kick)
SP- Alex Possert 6 run (Galvez kick)
About the Author
