VANSANT (September 25, 2026) – Southern Gap has a winning record in their inaugural season. The Eagles defeated Honaker 46-19 on Friday at Smiley Ratliff Field at the Red Robertson Athletic Complex. Southern Gap turned a three-point halftime lead into a commanding win with two touchdowns in the opening minute of the third quarter.
Senior quarterback Brayden White threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kanan Justice, giving the Eagles breathing room. Matthew Thompson followed with a squib kick that Reid Stiltner recovered, and Carson Blankenship scored moments later.
Just like that, a 16-13 battle had become a 32-13 Southern Gap (3-2) lead.
Blankenship, a freshman, finished with 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“We knew all night it was going to be a tough battle for us,” Southern Gap coach Greg Tester said. “With the type of offense they run, they can score at any time. All the credit goes to my guys up front. They took over the ballgame for us.”
The Eagles built their early lead with two runs that brought the home crowd to its feet. Freshman Gunner Baker broke several tackles on a 54-yard touchdown run with 3:22 left in the first quarter, and Blankenship added the two-point conversion.
Later in the quarter, freshman Mason Rife stopped a Honaker reverse, helping force a turnover on downs. Two plays later, Southern Gap took possession; Blankenship reversed the field, broke free, and raced 64 yards for a touchdown. White ran in the conversion, making it 16-0 with eight seconds left in the first. Honaker answered with two second-quarter touchdowns.
Quarterback Levi Honaker hit Kameron Keen for a 37-yard gain before finding Malachi Gilbert on a swing pass, and Gilbert carried it 15 yards into the end zone.
The Tigers recovered a Southern Gap fumble on the Eagles’ next offensive play. A roughing-the-passer penalty later extended their drive, and Gilbert scored from one yard out. Honaker trailed 16-13 with 4:10 left in the half.
“We battled,” Honaker coach Aaron Lowe said. “We made some adjustments in the first half and got back in the game.”
At halftime, Tester told the Eagles to keep fighting, protect the ball and avoid the penalties that had put their offense behind the chains.
“We get a first down, then a penalty backs us up to second-and-20,” he said. “There’s not a good play for second-and-20 or third-and-20. We’ve just got to stay in front of the sticks.”
Southern Gap answered. Justice caught White’s 43-yard touchdown pass and carried defenders into the end zone. White ran in the two-point conversion for a 24-13 lead with 11:02 left in the third quarter. Tester said Justice had suggested the play after seeing how Honaker was covering him. Honaker was called for a facemask penalty on the touchdown, which allowed Southern Gap to kick from midfield.
The Eagles then took the ball right back. Thompson sent a squib kick toward Honaker, and Stiltner recovered it at the Tigers’ 28-yard line. Blankenship ran for consecutive gains of 6 yards, and a roughing-the-passer penalty helped set up his 8-yard touchdown run. Gunner Baker added the conversion to make it 32-13 with 10:02 left in the third.
“They scored twice in about two and a half or three minutes,” Lowe said. “You go down three scores, and that’s hard to come back from.”
Honaker cut the deficit to 32-19 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Levi Honaker to Brayden Justus, but the Eagles shut down the comeback. Blankenship scored his third rushing touchdown on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter, then intercepted a pass on the Tigers’ next possession. Aidan Baker capped the scoring with a 12-yard run with 2:55 remaining.
Blankenship averaged 10.75 yards on 16 carries. Gunner Baker rushed five times for 70 yards and a touchdown. White completed 2-of-7 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 24 yards and scored three two-point conversions.
Southern Gap’s defense held Honaker to 51 rushing yards and 95 passing yards.
Blankenship quickly credited the line for his big night.
“I wouldn’t rather run behind anybody else,” he said. “They’re some real dogs. They work their tails off every day, and it’s really paid off. It’s showing.”
Honaker (1-4) have lost four straight since their season-opening win over Lebanon, when they lost their all-state quarterback, sophomore Parker Lowe, to injury. The Tigers have allowed more than 40 points per game in their four losses.
Southern Gap 46, Honaker 19
Honaker 0 13 6 0—19
Southern Gap 16 0 16 14—46
First Quarter
SG—Baker 54 run (Blankenship run), 3:28.
SG—Blankenship 64 run (White run), 0:05.
Second Quarter
HON—Gilbert 15 pass from Honaker (pass failed), 9:42.
HON—Gilbert 1 run (pass failed), 4:08.
Third Quarter
SG—Justice 43 pass from White (White run), 11:07.
SG—Blankenship 7 run (Baker run), 9:50.
HON—Justus 8 pass from Honaker (pass failed), 6:33.
Fourth Quarter
SG—Blankenship 28 run (White run), 10:34.
SG—Baker 13 run (run failed), 2:45.
HON SG
First downs 14 16
Total Net Yards 146 369
Rushes-yards 34-51 33-307
Passing 95 62
Comp-Att-Int 9-15-1 2-7-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-1
Penalties-Yards 5-53 13-97
Punts 2-47.5 2-38
