VIDALIA — Caden Mc-Gatha ran for three touchdowns and threw for three more in one half of action leading Pierce County to a 41-0 drubbing here of overmatched Vidalia in the regular season finale.
The second-ranked Bears (9-1) scored on all six first-half possessions Thursday night on Buck Cravey Field covering 95 yards, 80, 34, 37, 40 and 19 in building a 41-0 halftime advantage spoiling Senior Night on a rainy night.
“We wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth of the Appling County game,” said head coach Ryan Herring. “When you have a game like we had last week you’ve got to come out and win. That’s exactly what we did.
“In a nutshell, we came out here and took care of business fast. We came out with focus, took care of business, played fast and played hard.”
McGatha’s (seven carries, 176 yards) first carry went for 50 yards and a score. His second rushing attempt went for 65 yards with his final tote a oneyard run.
“He has some great throws and some great runs,” Herrin said of his senior signal-caller. “It was a great game. This was a great tuneup game for him and for everybody.
“I really didn’t know if we were going to be able to throw the ball because of the crazy weather on the ride up. The rain tapered off and slowed down so we were able to throw it a little.”
McGatha’s performance pushed his season total to 1,174 yards with 14 touchdowns to become the fifth player in school history with consecutive 1,000yard rushing seasons.
McGatha completed 4of-5 passes for 69 yards with touchdown passes of 34 yards, 14 and 19. He has thrown for 1,455 yards and 25 scores this season. Mc-Gatha is the only player in school history with a 1,000-yard rushing and 1,000-yard passing season and has accomplished the feat each of the past two campaigns.
Defensively, the Bears were dominate in recording their second shutout. PCHS allowed the Indians to reach their own 49 for their deepest penetration. Over the last seven possessions, Vidalia never advanced beyond its own 30.
The Indians produced 58 rushing yards on 32 attempts and never attempted a pass. Eight possessions ended with a punt with last ending when the final horn sounded.
The eight punts was one off the school record of nine forced against Charlton County and Glennville — both in 1981.
“I think that’s two years in a row we’ve been maybe at seven or right under seven,” Herring said of the points allowed per game. PCHS surrendered 68 points (6.8) in both the 2023 and 2024 regular seasons.
“The starters went out and got the first half shutout and the jayvee finished it off,” he said. “We take a lot of pride in scoring defense. Having coachable players is the whole key for us. I’m just proud of our defensive guys. The effort on both sides of the ball gives us some energy and momentum going into the playoffs.”
Following Vidalia’s first three-and-out possession, the Bears covered 95 yards in five plays. Marquez Leggett picked up 45 yards on the first four snaps with McGatha sprinting 50 yards on the next snap for the touchdown with 7:30 on the first quarter clock. The Indians blocked the PAT of Garrett Stevenson leaving the score at 6-0.
A second punt by Vidalia was followed by a two-play, 80-yard touchdown. After the Indians were flagged for a pass interference on the first play, McGatha raced 65 yards untouched pushing the lead to 12-0. Stevenson tacked the first of five consecutive PATs for a 13-0 advantage with three minutes remaining in the period.
Brandon Williams partially blocked the Indians’ third punt, a three-and-out, which bounded out of bounds for a 12-yard effort. Mc-Gatha found Jones Herrin all alone for a 34-yard touchdown one play later for a 20-0 lead with 26 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Nothing changed in the second period with three Bears’ touchdowns following three Vidalia punts.
PCHS went 37 yards in two plays for its next touchdown with 9:24 left in the half. McGatha hit Braden McKendree on a 14-yard screen play extending the margin to 27-0.
The Bears needed five plays to score from 40 yards away on their next possession. McGatha went through a gapping hole at right guard from a yard out with 4:58 remaining in the half after being ruled out of bounds following a 20-yard run as the lead climbed to 34-0.
Pierce County finished the half with a two-play, 19-yard touchdown. McGatha and Joe Drew hooked up on the 19-yard toss with three seconds remaining for a 41-0 bulge.
The second half was played under the “mercy rule” with each team getting three possessions. Senior offensive linemen Dylan Figueroa, K’Don Lashley and Colson Gambrell each got a chance to carry the ball over the final 24 minutes.
