Grapeland Destroys West Hardin, 58-6

Win Gives Sandies Outright District Championship

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter 

GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies knew when they took the field on Friday night a win would give them their first outright district championship since 2006. Standing in their way was a West Hardin Oilers team hoping to improve their playoff seeding.

The Sandies had already clinched at least a share of the district title and came into the game with a 4-0 (7-1 overall) district record. The Oilers sported a 3-2 record in district and a 5-4 mark overall.

From the opening kickoff, the Sandies left no doubt who wanted the victory more as they pummeled the Oilers and emerged from Sandie Stadium with a 58-6 win.

The game was over after the first quarter as the Sandies hung 22 points on the Oilers behind three Josh Ackley TDs.

The Oilers scored their lone touchdown at the start the second quarter to cut the score to 22-6, but that was as close as they would get as they 29 points on West Hardin to take a commanding 51-6 lead into the locker room.

Grapeland added one more score in the third quarter and kept the Oilers out of the end zone as the Sandies cruised to a 58-6 win to wrap up district play with a perfect 5-0 record. The win also moves their record to 8-1 on the season.

The Sandies were originally scheduled to play the Sabine Pass Sharks this coming Friday, but the Sharks cancelled their football season because of a shortage of players. Now, the Sandies will host the Legacy School of Sport Sciences (LSSS) Titans from Spring.

The game will not count in the standings but should give the Sandies a good test before they head into the playoffs.

LSSS is undefeated on the season at 8-0. The Titans average just under 32 points per game while defensively they have only given up 56 points (7 ppg average).

The Sandies, on the other hand, average just a shade under 40 ppg and have only allowed 77 points on the season (8.5 ppg). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sandie Stadium in Grapeland.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].