Report courtesy of Jason Bowen, Jackson County Sentinel
HIGDON – North Sand Mountain turned two quick Cedar Bluff turnovers into an early double-digit lead and held the visiting Tigers scoreless until the game’s final play during a 34-6 Class 2A Region 7 triumph at Lloyd Dobbins Field in Higdon Thursday night.
The Bison (4-0, 2-0), off to their best start since the 2020 season, have now outscored their opponents 171-13 while the defense nearly posted a third consecutive shutout.
Cedar Bluff (2-2, 1-1) started its first drive with runs of 8, 6 and 9 yards, but a fumble at the end of the last run was picked up by the Bison’s Jayden Bell. North Sand Mountain quickly marched 59 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead with just over three minutes gone when Jackson Burgess scored on a 13-yard run and kicked the first of his four extra points.
The Bison caught a break on the ensuing kickoff when Burgess’ kick ricocheted off a Cedar Bluff up-man and was recovered by Levi Burgess. That led to another eight-play scoring drive that ended with a 14-0 lead following Burgess’ 27-yard touchdown pass to Jack Johnson on a fourth-and-9 play.
Cedar Bluff reached the North Sand Mountain 17-yard line on its next possession, but a bad snap made worse by a grounding penalty cost the Tigers 23 yards and eventually forced a punt. One play after the punt, Burgess took the snap and followed his blockers right before breaking free for an 88-yard touchdown run to give the Bison a 21-0 lead with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter.
NSM upped its advantage to 27-0 with 4:50 left in the half on Kade Davis’ 2-yard touchdown run — the drive began with Jaxyn Lankster’s 58-yard reception — before scoring its final touchdown with 37 seconds left in the third quarter on Burgess’ 6-yard scramble. That score came three plays after Brady Anderson took a short pass from Burgess 49 yards to the Cedar Bluff 10-yard line.
Cedar Bluff avoided the shutout on Jeremiah Miller’s 7-yard touchdown run on the game’s final play.
North Sand Mountain finished with 434 total yards (273 rushing and 161 passing) while limiting Cedar Bluff to just 117.
Burgess ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns on six carries and was 9-of-11 passing for 161 yards and one score.
Davis ran for 62 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries for the Bison, who also got a 59-yard run from Hunter Hall and 34 yards on four carries from Johnson, who also caught five passes for 51 yards and one touchdown.
Miller finished with 54 yards on 10 carries for the Tigers. Kadien Tracy ran for 52 yards on 15 carries.
Cedar Bluff travels to Section next Friday. North Sand Mountain hosts Gaston.
