Red Devils douse Flame with ground attack
By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
VINA - Thursday night was not officially senior night at Vina, but it might as well have been.
Each of Vina's four seniors turned in an outstanding performance as the Red Devils bolstered their growing playoff hopes with a dominating 33-13 rout of Shoals Christian.
Tailback Ryan Umfress broke through would-be tacklers all night, finishing with 201 yards on 33 carries.
Quarterback Gary Taylor added 111 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, including a 78-yarder to set up Vina's third score. He also threw a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score.
Linebacker Kerry Lawler spearheaded a strong defensive effort with 15 tackles, and he also pitched in at fullback with 12 carries for 66 yards.
Tackle Shannon Ozbirn led a terrific effort up front that allowed Vina (4-3, 3-2 Class 1A, Region 8) to dominate the Flame at the line of scrimmage, resulting in a 378-68 edge in rushing yards.
Vina also held a decisive edge in time of possession, keeping Shoals Christian's spread-offense passing attack on the sidelines for two-thirds of the game.
An epic 16-play (all rushes), 96-yard drive by the Red Devils in the second half chewed up more than ten minutes of the clock and wiped out any chance of a comeback by the Flame (3-4, 1-4).
The Flame finished with 225 total yards, but one-third of that came on their opening drive. Sam Hamilton finished the night 11-of-26 for 157 yards, and he was intercepted by Blake Patterson.
The Red Devils did not turn the ball over.
The Red Devils had a pair of 14-play drives in the first half to go along with their 16-play march that put the game away.
Fifty-five of Vina's 58 plays on the night were running plays. The Red Devils converted 8-of-12 third downs and 3-of-4 fourth downs in the game, thanks in large part to tough running by Umfress.
Taylor's 3-yard touchdown toss to Umfress on fourth down gave Vina a 13-7 lead late in the first quarter.
A 9-yard run by Umfress made it 19-7, and Taylor added a pair of touchdown runs in the second half.
Vina plays at top-ranked R.A. Hubbard on Thursday.
