BY DAN SMITH:

BREWTON – A powerful T.R. Miller offense was too much for the Bulldogs of Pike County High Friday night as the Tigers claimed a 49-8 win in Brewton’s Municipal Stadium in the second round of the AHSAA Class 3A state playoffs.

T.R. Miller running back Markail Mitchell rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while Ahmaud Taylor picked up 136 yards and four touchdowns for the Tigers. T.R. Miller scored on all six possessions of the first half.

“One thing about it, it’s hard to stop somebody if you don’t make them punt,” said PCHS Head Coach Fred Holland. “They did not punt in the first half and it resulted in a lot of points being scored and Miller played a lot better than we did. I can’t say enough about how hard they played. Our guys had a real good season, it didn’t turn out exactly the way we wanted to but I am proud of them for what they accomplished.”

T.R. Miller entered the game ranked No. 6 in Class 3A, improving to 9-2 and advancing to the third round, whilePCHS ends the year at 9-2.

Pike County got the ball first but could not generate a first down and punted. The Tigers then moved 68 yards in seven plays, with Taylor scoring from 8-yards out, and the extra point by Hunter Brittain was good for the 7-0 lead.

The Tigers went up 14-0 in the opening minutes of the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Taylor, and caught the Bulldogs off guard with an on-sides kick, which T.R. Miller recovered at the PCHS 42.

Eight plays later Taylor scored from 5-yards out and a 21-0 lead.

Mitchell scored a touchdown on a 62-yard run with 5:11 to go in the half, and following an interception of a PCHS pass, T.R. Miller quarterback Caleb Winton connected with Chadian Johnson on the first play of the possession for a 46-yard TD pass play, and a 35-0 lead with 4:35 to play in the second quarter.

The Tigers went ahead 42-0 when Mitchell took it in from 1-yard out, and that was the score at halftime.

Pike County got on the scoreboard on their first possession of the second half. The drive started at the PCHS 20, and Deshon Cowlin broke a 48-yard run to the Miller 32. Three plays later quarterback Jerrell Lawson connected with Kamari Jackson for a touchdown. The Bulldogs went for the two-point conversion, and Lawson hit Cowling with the pass completion and the score was 42-8 with 6:36 to go in the third quarter.

T.R. Miller scored its final touchdown with 0:45 to go in the third quarter on a 5-yard touchdown carry by Taylor and the extra point was good for the 49-8 score which held up to be the final.

Unofficial stats had Pike Country rushing for 145 total yards on 16 carries on the night while T.R. Miller ran for 343 on 47 carries.

Cowling for PCHS ran for 115 yards on 10 carries. Lawson completed 6 of 13 passes for 79 yards and one TD for the Bulldogs.

For T. R. Miller, Winton was 11 of 17 passing for 159 yards and 1 TD.

The Tigers outgunned the Bulldogs in total yardage, 502 to 224.

PCHS loses approximately 7 to 8 seniors that were starters, according to Holland, and will rely on youth next season.

“We will be real young,” said Holland. “We don’t have a lot of experience with only a few guys with experience on each side of the ball. I think our seniors did a good job of leading us this year. We came as far as we could. I’m proud of our kids for that. I think what they did, what they accomplished at Pike County, a lot of those seniors turned the program around.”

It made football fun. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to tonight, but our guys played extremely hard.”