Brannon King

For the FCT

The Vina Red Devils (0-8, 0-6) fell in defeat 35-14 to the Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Eagles Thursday night in Priceville.

For most of the first half, Vina played well and was even on the scoreboard with the Eagles with just over two minutes left in the second quarter.  It was then that things started to unravel for the young Red Devils who fought hard throughout the game and refused to give up.

It took Decatur Heritage five plays to score on their first drive of the game.  Senior running back, Sawyer Holland took a handoff and went 13 yards to make it 6-0.  Josh Lara then added the extra point.

Vina followed with a 15-play drive of their own but didn’t produce any points as a fourth down pass fell incomplete turning the ball back over to the Eagles.

After only four plays, Decatur Heritage scored again.  This time, Sawyer Holland found the endzone from 11 yards out.  Lara again added the PAT making the score 14-0.

Vina then got their running attack, which had 225 yards in the game, on track.  A 13-play drive, featuring all running plays, finished with a 13-yard TD run by Daniel Wooten.  Andrew Hester added the extra point making the score 14-7.

Vina kept the momentum when the Eagles misplayed a short kickoff.  The Red Devils recovered the ball setting up the offense again.

Tyler Renfrow found Drake Hester on a 37-yard pass completion on fourth down moving the ball to the Decatur Heritage 6-yard-line.  Three plays later, Renfrow got a good push from his offensive line and just got into the endzone for a TD.  Andrew Hester’s PAT evened the score at 14 with 2:29 left in the half.

Vina’s kickoff then went out of bounds giving the Eagles possession near mid-field.  Sawyer Holland ran 45 yards on first down and then followed two plays later with a 4-yard TD run. Vina’s Drake Hester blocked the extra point kick but Decatur Heritage led 20-14.

The Red Devils then fumbled on first down and Trent Smith of the Eagles recovered. On the next play, Grayson Wakefield ran 23 yards for a touchdown. The try for two was good and the Eagles took a 28-14 lead.

The final Decatur Heritage touchdown of the foggy night came with twenty seconds to go in the third quarter when Sawyer Holland ran 51 yards.  Lara’s PAT kick was good making the score 35-14.

Vina’s lack of depth and experience continues to be hard for the Red Devils to overcome.

“We’re just playing with so much youth, it’s tough. Four seniors and at one time, we’re playing with six 9th graders on the field, that’s tough but they’re going to be good ball players in the future if they can just build that foundation. I appreciate the seniors that are trying real hard at this time,” Vina head coach James Pharr said after the game.

Vina will try for their first win of the season in the next game, which is at Waterloo.