Vincent weathers the storm to take road win at Winterboro

Published 12:13 am Saturday, August 24, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By STEPHEN DAWKINS | Special to the Reporter

ALPINE – Vincent leaned on its power running game and dominant defense to pull out a 19-6 season-opening win at Winterboro on Friday, Aug. 23.

The Yellow Jackets rushed for 192 yards and held their hosts to 88 total yards—but still had to ice the game away late with the Bulldogs within striking distance.

“The thing I’m proud of is how the program has changed,” coach Lucas Weatherford said about the Yellow Jackets weathering adversity on the road in a tough environment to come away with a win. “Several years ago when I got here, with that kind of adversity, we would have folded. But we found a way to pull it out.”

On Winterboro’s first possession, a bad snap found its way into the end zone, and Vincent’s Ethan McElrath recorded the sack for a safety and a 2-0 lead.

VHS then drove down the field close to the other end zone, but a bad snap of its own cost them a chance at a touchdown. The Yellow Jackets instead settled for a 27-yard field goal by Daniel Campos for an unconventional 5-0 lead.

In this slugfest of a game, Vincent took a commanding lead in the second quarter when quarterback Casen Fields found Landon Archer for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Campos’ point-after made it 12-0.

A 58-yard run by Jayden Roberts in the third quarter that may have sealed away the game for the Jackets was called back because of a penalty, and then Winterboro took advantage, scoring to cut the lead to 12-6.

A strong rushing attack did allow Vincent to score again in the fourth quarter, on a 9-yard run by Roberts, to bring the game to its final score.

Aiden Gasaway rushed 15 times for 93 yards. Roberts added 54 yards on 12 carries and would have doubled that output had it not been for the penalty. Fields completed three passes in eight attempts for 40 yards.

Grayson Gulde was the leading tackler for a Vincent defense that was stifling all night.

Next, on Friday, Aug. 30, Vincent will host B.B. Comer—a team that has had the Yellow Jackets’ number to the tune of five consecutive wins in the series, including in each of the past four years.

Unlike the most recent games in the series, this year’s tilt will not be a region matchup as the Tigers moved up to Class 3A.

But Weatherford said he wants his team looking inward before worrying about the opponent.

“We’re going to have to focus on ourselves first and clean up a lot of mistakes from this game,” he said. “We need to have our most improvement from the first game to the second.”

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