Although Sparta Academy defeated the Greenville Academy Tornados on Autrey Field Friday night, they continued in their improvement, scoring 26 points against the 55 of Sparta.

The Warriors dominated the scoring early into the game, breaking the silence with 6:14 left in the first quarter, on a 60-yard pass from Derek Williams to Perry Castleberry. The PAT attempt was no good, and the score was 6-0 Sparta.

Sparta again scored when with 5:21 left in the first quarter Rusty Salter recovered a fumble to take it in two yards for a TD. Derek Williams carried in the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0.

Shortly after the start of the second quarter, the Tornados lit up their side of the scoreboard when Blakely Ward carried in a one-yard run, followed by an Adam Moore two-point conversion, and the score was now 14-8, Sparta.

With less than 30 seconds left in the half, Moore passed the ball to Ward, who then threw the lateral to Randy Faulk, who carried the ball 34 yards for a touchdown. The PAT attempt was no good, and the score was tied briefly at 14-all.

Sparta changed that with just two seconds left in the half when a 58-yard pass from Williams to Salter was good in the end zone. A two-pointer from John McGinty landed a 14-22 halftime score.

Then with 5:03 left in the third quarter, the Tornados again scored on a six-yard pass from Moore to Ward n the failed PAT resulted in a score of 22-20 Sparta.

Sparta widened the gap when they again scored with 3:10 left in the third on a Lyle Cobb 33-yard run. Another failed PAT and the score was 28-20 Sparta.

Then with 10:52 left in the fourth, Sparta scored on a 14-yard run by Salter, which was followed by a Salter two-pointer, making the score 36-20 Warriors.

Again when the clock showed 5:09 in the game, a Castleberry run of 20 yards scored a TD, followed by yet another failed PAT, making the score 42-20 Sparta.

Then with 4:14 in the game, McGinty scored on a one-yard run, followed by a Rusty Castleberry two-pointer to bring the score up to 49-20, Sparta.

The Tornados again came alive on a nine-yard pass from Moore to Ward, followed by a failed PAT to make the score 49-26 Sparta.

The Warriors iced the cake with a Perry Castleberry 57-yard run to make the final score 55-26, Sparta.

Randy Faulk led the offense for the Tornados, with 151 yards rushing on 16 carries, followed by Andy Beck with 91 yards in 20 carries, and Adam Moore with 12 yards gained from nine carries.

Defensively Colt Brantley led the Tornados, with his four tackles. Charlie McKinnon, Andy Beck and Justin Murphy each followed him with three tackles.

&uot;For the first quarter, the Tornados held back Sparta to 12 yards rushing, allowing them to make only one of two completions for 60 yards, although they made a touchdown in it also,&uot; said Head Coach Charles Oswald. &uot;Then during the second quarter, they held the Warriors back to a net rushing gain of two yards.&uot;

The Tornados will begin a two-week traveling jaunt when the go to Troy next Friday to face the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots.