Saturday, October 31, 2009
Vikings roll to easy win
varsity.roanoke.com
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Northside running back Philip Scott felt a surging pride when he and fellow seniors got a special introduction in front of a cheering home crowd before Friday night's game against Lord Botetourt.
He felt even better after leading the Vikings to a convincing 29-6 victory and one step closer to an outright Blue Ridge District crown.
"I'm really excited," beamed Scott. "To come out here on senior night this way."
Scott pierced the overmatched Cavaliers defense for a game-high 142 yards on 20 carries.
Forty-nine of those yards came on Scott's first touch of the second half, a touchdown run that helped give Northside a little breathing room as it stretched its lead to 22-0 over a Cavaliers team that was pulling out all the stops in their upset bid.
Lord Botetourt (2-8, 0-4 Blue Ridge District) had gambled and attempted an onside kick to start the half, but the Vikings were ready and recovered in Cavalier territory.
"We'd seen it before and had game planned for it," said Vikings head coach Burt Torrence.
After an incomplete pass, Scott took a hand-off, broke several tackles and raced untouched the final 40 yards for a score. The Vikings (7-2, 3-0) put the game out of reach on their next drive.
After forcing Lord Botetourt to punt, Northside took over at its own 16 and marched down the field in 11 plays. Scott had runs of 12, 12 and 14 yards on the drive, finishing the work with a 2-yard plunge for his third touchdown.
Torrence said he was pleased with how his team responded in the second half.
"They took some things away from us," Torrence said. "But we were able to make some adjustments and things started clicking."
The defense had been clicking well in the first half, especially in bottling up the Cavaliers running attack, holding Lord Botetourt to minus-6 yards on 10 carries.
Cavaliers coach Tater Benson said he was pleased with the effort from his team, which scored on the final play of the game when senior Justin Welch plowed in from one yard out for his first-ever touchdown.
"Our seniors have done everything we asked them to do, the problem is we had only nine of them," said Benson, whose team also had only seven juniors. "We knew it was going to be a tough year. But no matter what we went through, they never laid down."
The second half provided a glimpse of what may lie ahead for the Cavaliers, with speedy sophomore running back Evan Bourne providing some highlights on several nice runs, including a 17-yarder on which he hurdled a defender.
Starting quarterback Will Cline is only a freshman.
"We have some good young kids," said Benson, whose team will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Torrence's Vikings can win the Blue Ridge District title and earn a coveted first-round playoff bye with a win over Staunton River next week.
"We feel like we're getting better and better each week," Torrence said. "It's happening for us at the right time."
Lord Botetourt 0 0 0 6--6
Northside 8 7 14 0--29
NS - Scott 5 run (Gilliard pass from Keith)
NS - Fisher 26 pass from Keith (Joyner kick)
NS - Scott 49 run (Joyner kick)
NS - Scott 2 run (Joyner kick)
LB - Welch 1 run (Kick not attempted)
LB NO
First downs 12 16
Yards rushing 93 252
Passes C-A-I 10-21-1 4-11-0
Yards passing 110 75
Penalties-yards 4-33 3-33
Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0
Punts-average 8-28.4 3-29.3
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- Lord Botetourt, Bourne 17 -65, Stone 6-13, Hargrove 2-10, Cline 3-4, Welch 1-1, Quirin 1 - (-6); Northside Scott 220 -142, Phelps 5-44, Edmunds 4-28, Johnson 6-22, Fisher 4-15, Bowden 3-8, Tanks 1-0, Hardister 1- (-7)
PASSING -- Lord Botetourt, Cline 11-19-0-110, Hargrove 0-2-1-0; Northside, Keith 4-11-0-75
RECEIVING -- Lord Botetourt, Hargrove 3-47, Williams 2-19, Quirin 2-10; Northside, Fisher 2-27, Jackson 1-19, Brown 1-9.
