Red Devil rally falls short at Mt. Hope

By Staff
Mike Hester
For the FCT
VINA – The Vina football suffered its first region loss of the season, falling to Mount Hope 26-24.
The Yellow Jackets drew first blood, scoring twice in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead.
"We didn't play very good," said Vina coach Bill Smith. "Mount hope played with a lot of enthusiasm."
The Red Devils had a little enthusiasm of their own and answered the Yellow Jackets' score with a 15-yard pass from Brent Townsend to Morgan McCarley. Townsend scored on the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 14-8.
Mount Hope increased their lead to 20-8 in the third quarter, but the Red Devils were able to keep pace, scoring on a 15-yard run by Channing Haithcock. Townsend again scored on the two-point-conversion.
Mount Hope added another score to pull ahead 26-16, but Townsend drove his team back down the field and found Cass White for a 15-yard touchdown pass. He hit White again on the two-point play and the Red Devils pulled within two late in the fourth quarter.
Mount Hope never gave the ball back and ran out the clock to preserve the win.
Turnovers plagued the offense all night. Townsend threw four interceptions and the Red Devils lost three fumbles.
The Red Devils (1-1, 1-1) will host Hazlewood Friday