By Bobby Mathews, sports editor
PINSON — Quarterback Zach Pyron showed what he’s made of here Friday night, September 3, 2021. The senior quarterback, who has won three state championships during his high school career, led third-ranked Pinson Valley (2-1, 1-0)to a 38-21 victory over Gardendale to open region play.
Pyron threw for a pair of scores and ran for a 20-yard touchdown. The Baylor commit got the scoring started in the first quarter with a 20-yard toss to Amare Thomas, but Gardendale battled back to close the gap, and the score was 10-7 at the end of the first period.
The Rockets’ LT Sanders kept them in the game, rushing for two 50-yard scores and totaling 207 yards on 22 carries. But Pinson Valley showed their toughness. They took every shot that Gardendale had, and they were still standing at the end of the night. Jaylen Taylor trucked 33 yards to pay dirt to put the Indians up 17-7.
Sanders answered with one of his 50-yard runs for a touchdown to bring the score to 17-13, but Gardendale missed the extra point. With less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, Pyron tucked the ball and rambled 20 yards to score for Pinson Valley, pushing the halftime lead to 24-13.
The Indians’ special teams were key in extending the lead, as Pinson Valley caught Gardendale off guard with a pair of short kickoffs. Taborie Reed corralled the first kick, ending up on the Gardendale 15. From there, Pyron hit Korbyn Williams for the score and with the point after, Pinson Valley was up 31-13.
PVHS’s Rod Ivy recovered the next short kickoff, but the Indians were stymied when Gardendale defender Kelby Collins stripped the ball from Williams’ grasp as he was going in to score.
Sanders answered for the Rockets, breaking off another 50-yard score. The two-point conversion failed, and with eight minutes left in the game, it was 31-19.
Enter Mike Sharp. The senior running back iced the game for the Indians with about four minutes to go when he sliced through the Gardendale defense to make it 38-19.
The Rockets had their chances in the second half, moving the ball inside the Indians’ 20-yard line three separate times and turning the ball over each time. It also didn’t help that Sanders, who had been the backbone of the Gardendale team all night, left the field with an injury with 4:25 left in the game and did not return.
Next week Pinson Valley hosts Minor in a 6A Region 6 matchup.