Vincent grinds out dominant shutout at Childersburg to seal 5-0 start

Published 11:18 pm Friday, September 27, 2024

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By STEPHEN DAWKINS | Special to the Reporter

CHILDERSBURG – The visiting Vincent Yellow Jackets churned out 305 yards on the ground–and a dominant defense held the Childersburg Tigers in check all night–in a 31-0 win on Friday, Sept. 27 at Childersburg High School.

A three-headed monster led the Vincent rushing attack. Jayden Roberts had 124 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, Aiden Gasaway had 90 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries, and Casen Fields added 72 yards and one TD on nine carries.

“We challenged our offensive line a little bit,” Vincent coach Lucas Weatherford said about the game plan heading into the rivalry tilt. “It was an old-fashioned, grind-it-out win.”

Landon Archer returned the opening kickoff for the Yellow Jackets (5-0 overall, 2-0 in Class 2A, Region 5 play) inside Childersburg territory to the 35-yard line. Fields passed to Lane Mims for 25 yards to set the visitors up with first-and-goal, and Roberts eventually punched it in from the 1-yard line.

Daniel Campos was good for the extra point, as he was after each of the Vincent touchdowns on the night, and the score was 7-0.

In the second quarter, Roberts and Gasaway were workhorses on a 13-play drive that culminated with Fields finding the end zone from 37 yards out.

The Jackets got the ball back with time running out in the first half and put together another long drive. There wasn’t enough time to score a touchdown, but Campos did connect on a 33-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead heading into the break.

Vincent had another good drive going in the third quarter but lost a fumble in Childersburg (1-5 overall) territory.

Opportunities with the football were difficult to come by in a game where both teams were content with letting the clock run. Vincent had only six possessions and scored on four of them.

The final scoring drives for the Yellow Jackets came in the fourth quarter. Gasaway capped off a 12-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run to make it 24-0, and then Vincent needed only two plays to score on its next possession, this time on a 38-yard run by Roberts.

The Vincent defense was dominant in the game, allowing only 67 total yards–and 35 of those yards came on one play.

Zach Morehead stood out with three sacks in the game.

“It was a great night overall for our defense,” Weatherford said.

The Yellow Jackets will host region foe and fellow unbeaten Tuscaloosa Academy (5-0) in a crucial matchup on Oct. 4.