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‘Magic’ Moore leads Stratford in rout of Sycamore




Stratford running back James Moore rushed for 269 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-0 victory over Sycamore. CARL EDMONDSON-FILE

Stratford running back James Moore rushed for 269 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-0 victory over Sycamore. CARL EDMONDSON-FILE

PLEASANT VIEW—On a rainy and windy Friday night, wet field conditions failed to slow down the Stratford Spartans as they rolled to a 49-0 victory over the Sycamore War Eagles. 

The Spartans controlled the game from start to finish with a monster outing from all-state running back James “Magic” Moore, who finished with 30 carries for 269 yards and four touchdowns, and a dominant defensive performance that saw the War Eagles limited to 123 yards of total offense.

“They did a great job over the whole week working really hard. It was our fall break, so they did a really good job of coming in and working hard every day, and it showed on the field tonight,” said Stratford head coach Tom Porter.

Moore got the ball early and often, including all 11 carries on the game’s opening drive that ended in a 2-yard plunge into the end zone to cap off a seven-minute drive. He added two more touchdowns to give the Spartans a 22-0 halftime lead, and another after the break to finish the evening with four touchdowns.

Sycamore’s Tyler Niebel rushed for 101 yards against Stratford. BILL CLARK-FILE

Sycamore’s Tyler Niebel rushed for 101 yards against Stratford. BILL CLARK-FILE

“He’s a grinder, and if it was up to him, he would have stayed in the game and got 300 [yards], but we pulled him at the end of the game. The kid works really hard and is well deserving of all the accolades he’s going to get down the road,” said Porter.

Samuel Armstead connected with Drequan Gills on a 15-yard touchdown strike to invoke a running clock late in the third quarter. The Spartans scored twice in the fourth quarter as Markeese Groves scored on his only carry of the evening, a 51-yard touchdown run to finish out the scoring on the evening. JaQuez Hinton found the end zone, as well, scoring from 5 yards out.

In an otherwise lackluster performance, Tyler Niebel was the lone bright spot for the War Eagles’ offense with 101 rushing yards on 21 carries. Defensively, Logan Ivey added an interception for Sycamore.

Stratford (5-2) will travel to East Nashville next week for a key Region 5-3A matchup with the Eagles that could ultimately determine who will play host to a first-round playoff game. Sycamore (3-5) has a bye next, but returns to action Oct. 25 against county rival Cheatham County in Region 6-3A play.

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