varsity.roanoke.com

Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Philip Scott (center) breaks away from the grips of William Byrd's Nick Janowicz and Brian Fuquay (3) in third-quarter action Friday night, on his way to a 57-yard touchdown run. The Vikings had 331 total rushing yards and scored three TDs.

Shortly before 10 o'clock at Robert A. Patterson Field in Vinton Friday night, the prevailing moods spanned the spectrum.

On a cold, damp evening, William Byrd's cement stands were wet and largely empty -- nearly as many people were crowding the press box as remained in the stands. But a few moments later and a few hundred yards away, the visitors' locker room hosted a raucous celebration.

Northside rolled Byrd 25-12 in a Blue Ridge District contest, winning its third consecutive game. Byrd (2-5, 0-1) had not lost to the Vikings in four years.

Northside running back Philip Scott rushed for 253 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns. He has now gained 1,346 yards on the season, ranking him among Timesland's leaders.

Vikings coach Burt Torrence explained his team's jubilation.

"They felt like they let one slip away against these guys last year, when they beat us on our field [21-13] for the district championship," Torrence said. "We felt like we didn't play up to our potential last year. Our guys took tonight's game personally."

Torrence, in his fourth year at Northside's helm, noted that this year's seniors were freshmen when he started at the school. Torrence won just three games in his first two years combined.

"One of our seniors who's injured, Trent Cundiff, thanked the coaches for not giving up on the players," Torrence said. "But more importantly, the players didn't give up on the coaches."

The Vikings' potent running game rolled up 331 yards against Byrd, giving the team more than 850 on the ground in the past two weeks. Torrence felt that his offensive line deserved the credit against Byrd.

"We have an extremely powerful line," he said.

"It feels good," said Northside offensive tackle Cameron Carter, who teamed with guard Nick Sigmon to open holes for Scott on his second-half scoring jaunts of 57 and 59 yards, respectively. "Scott's so fast you just have to turn your man a little bit and he's through the hole."

"It was the same play both times," Sigmon said, "nothing fancy."

The Vikings (6-2, 2-0) picked up 20 first downs to Byrd's 4 and the Terriers managed just 93 yards total offense. Byrd running back Derrick Palmer was held to 34 yards on 25 carries, although he scored two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 16. One of Palmer's scores was an 86-yard return of the second-half kickoff.

"We just couldn't get anything going tonight," Byrd coach Jeff Highfill said. "They didn't let us get a footing."

Northside's Sean Joyner kicked two first-half field goals, 21 and 34 yards, respectively, but neither team fared well on extra-point conversions. Four of the game's five attempts were unsuccessful.

Northside 3 10 6 6 -- 25

William Byrd 0 0 6 6 -- 12

N -- FG Joyner 21

N -- Scott 6 run (Joyner kick)

N -- FG Joyner 34

WB -- Palmer 86 kickoff return (kick failed)

N -- Scott 57 run (pass failed)

N Scott 59 run (kick failed)

WB -- Palmer 4 run (kick failed)

N WB

First downs 20 4

Yards rushing 43-331 28-41

Passes C-A-I 9-17-2 3-12-0

Yards passing 99 52

Penalties-yards 0-0 4-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0

Punts-average 4-32.8 9-36.1

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Northside, Scott 23-253, Phelps 1-2, Johnson 2-20, Bowden 3-17, Fisher 4-19, Keith 4-7, Tanks 4-6, Hamilton 1-(-2), Edmunds 1-9. William Byrd, Palmer 25-34, Ja. Barton 3-7.

PASSING -- Northside, Keith 9-17-2-99. William Byrd, Haymaker 0-3-0-0, Palmer 3-9-0-52.

RECEIVING -- Northside, Fisher 3-37, Brown 2-20, Bowden 2-17, Phelps 1-18, Manspile 1-7. William Byrd, Janowicz 3-52.