UNION GROVE — Kayden Smith passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another TD as Big Sandy rolled to a 42-0 win over Union Grove on Thursday at Glyn Johnston Stadium.

Thursday’s pivotal District 10-2A tilt was without question, a must-win affair for both the Wildcats and Lions if they had any intention of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Both teams stalled on their opening possessions then Big Sandy struck first when quarterback Smith tossed a long pass that hit receiver Christian Kearby in stride for a 52-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats an early 6-0 lead.

Big Sandy (3-6 overall, 2-3 district) came up with another defensive stop and the Wildcat offense quickly went back to work. Big Sandy stretched its lead to 14-0 when Kearby caught a short pass from Smith and turned on the jets for a 38-yard score.

Union Grove (3-5, 0-4) put together its best drive of the game early in the second quarter when they marched inside the Big Sandy 10-yard line on a 16-yard run by Jaden Chavers. The Lions had a golden chance to claw themselves back in the game, but fumbled a snap on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line as the score remained 14-0.

Big Sandy essentially put the game away on their next drive as they put together a quick 99-yard scoring drive and once again the damage was the result of a big pass play. Smith tossed a short pass to receiver Adrian Petty-Johnson, who out-ran everyone for a 62-yard score to give the Wildcats a 22-0 lead.

The Wildcats continued to pile up the points when Smith scored on a 1-yard sneak and then followed it up with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Zachary Duhart to give Big Sandy a 36-0 halftime lead.

Big Sandy punctuated the final tally early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard scoring run by Malijah Francis. The Wildcats were solid on both sides of the ball as the offense scratched out 511 total yards from scrimmage. But perhaps even more impressive was the Big Sandy defense, who produced a shut-out victory while allowing just 113 yards of total offense.

With the victory, Big Sandy has re-inserted itself back in the playoff picture entering their bye week. Depending on the outcome of the Harleton-Hawkins game on Friday night, we could have a rivalry game between the Wildcats and Hawks to determine the district’s final playoff spot on Nov. 4.

Big Sandy 14 22 0 6 — 42

Union Grove 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

BS- Christian Kearby 52 pass from Kayden Smith (PAT Failed), 4:40

BS- Kearby 38 pass from Smith (Kearby run), 2:57

Second Quarter

BS- Adrian Petty-Johnson 62 pass from Smith (Malijah Francis run), 7:20

BS- Smith 1 run (Tyson Tapley kick), 3:15

BS- Zachary Duhart 24 pass from Smith (Tapley kick), 0:55

Fourth Quarter

BS- Malijah Francis 10 run (PAT failed), 8:14

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TEAM STATS

Big Sandy Team Statistics Union Grove

16 First Downs 8

(15-25-0-334) Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Yards) (3-15-0-32)

32-177 Rushing Attempts-Yards 30-81

15-334 Receptions-Yards 3-32

2-32.5 Punts-Average 6-31.0

5-40 Penalties-Yards 2-15

2-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-2

1 Turnovers 2

Passing

Big Sandy— Kayden Smith (15-25-0-334). Union Grove- Cooper Vestal (3-15-0-32).

Rushing

Big Sandy— Hunter Reneau 11-59, Malachi Hughes 2-38, Kayden Smith 9-26, Malijah Francis 6-24, Zachary Duhart 1-21, Christian Kearby 1-6, Blake Wilson 1-2, Damion Dixon 1-1. Union Grove-Jaden Chavers 11-30, Cooper Vestal 8-27, Jacob Griffin 5-15, Jesse Fulmer 5-7, Landon Ferguson 1-2.

Receiving

Big Sandy— Christian Kearby 6-157, Adrian Petty-Johnson 3-83, Zachary Duhart 3-51, Blake Wilson 2-45, Logan Ollive 1-(-2). Union Grove- Peyton Laake 3-32.