This story has been
written before, and will likely be written again. Vandegrift’s mighty
defense went up against a high-scoring offense, and like it usually does
in these situations, shut it down. The Vipers used a solid game plan,
maximum effort and near-flawless execution to keep Vista Ridge (4-1) off
the scoreboard for the first two-and-a-half quarters in a 31-12 win
Friday at John Gupton Stadium in Leander, TX.
“We knew we’d be depending
on our defense tonight,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “We felt
it was strength versus strength because they came in averaging over 40
points a game and for us to do what we did tonight, shut them out in the
first half really I thought set a tone to our guys. We had a great week
of work. We didn’t play particularly well last week in a win over
Hendrickson and everybody kind of got down on us. I think the kids took
that personal, came out and played really well tonight.”
The outcome might’ve been
different if not for some costly mistakes by the Rangers. Vista Ridge
marched down the field on its opening drive before Vandegrift stiffened
up right before the goal line. Facing 4th & goal from the 1, the
Rangers surprised the Vipers with a perfectly drawn up pass play. The
execution fell short, however, as the wide receiver dropped a ball that
hit him right in the numbers. On the ensuing possession, Vandegrift
punched the reeling Rangers right in the mouth with junior running back
Bowen Lewis (23 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD) breaking loose for a 48-yard
score.
“We worked all week on our
train check,” Sanders said, “which is the adjustment to their big,
heavy set, and we executed it to perfection, and so I was really pleased
to see that. It was first & goal from the 1, and it just shows a
lot of guts on our defense to, first of all, do what you’re coached to
do and then stop them four downs in a row. Huge credit to our defense,
just unbelievable heart.”
The Rangers also had two
back-breaking mistakes on special teams and a pair of lost fumbles,
while Vandegrift played a clean game with zero turnovers and only two
penalties. Vista Ridge had a deep snap sail over its punters head to
set-up a five-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Ryan Sheppard
to open the second quarter.
“That’s kind of what our
defense does, it makes plays, and then our offense is opportunistic, and
it’s also very specific and organized, and they do a great job of
making the plays count,” Sanders said. “We’re not a super explosive
offense, but we’re a very efficient offense that gets things done and
it’s a recipe for winning ball games… I don’t know how people view us,
but I think as I look at my own team I see us as a team that plays
really sound, fundamental football. We don’t make many mistakes. We play
good defense, we play efficient offense, we play solid special teams,
and I think we’re a tough out for anybody we play.”
A lost fumble later in the
period gave the Vipers another short field, which they took advantage
of as senior quarterback Dru Dawson (8-for-13, 82 pass yards, 2 TDs, 48
rush yards) hooked up with senior wide receiver Trey Mongauzy for a
14-yard score. Vista Ridge opened the second half with another botched
punt snap. The Vipers scored three plays later with Dawson finding
Mongauzy (3 catches, 46 yards, 2 TDs) again to make it 31-0 and send the
more casual fans scrambling to their cars.
“We get a great week of
work in. We trust our coach’s game plan. They work really hard to put a
great game plan in and we stay locked into the game. Good things happen
when we stay locked in,” said senior defensive end Matthew Graham. “We
(the defensive line) are not the biggest, but we play really hard, we
believe in each other, we believe in our D-line coach, who’s an awesome
guy, and we’re relentless. We always find a way.”