The Vinton Lions had a night of firsts on Friday, but it didn’t include their first win of the 2009 season as the Hamilton Christian Warriors took a 21-12 win out of Vinton.
“We are so young and when we got tired it showed,” said Vinton head coach Wendell LeJeune. “It’s a learning experience and they are playing hard.”
The night started well for the Lions (0-5) as they drove down the field 64 yards. Kelby Hebert capped the long drive for Vinton with a five-yard touchdown run that gave the Lions a 6-0 lead just over four minutes into the game.
“It was fun,” LeJeune said on the opening drive. “There were some things we knew we could do. But toward the end we had to run the same play every time and they started stunting into that play.”
Hebert’s touchdown marked the first time this season that the Lions have had a lead.
The Warriors (1-4) answered back with a long drive of their own of 58 yards capped by a two-yard run by Marcos Partin that gave Hamilton the 7-6 lead after one quarter of play.
The Lions moved down the field with their first possession of the second quarter. After picking up one first down, Vinton committed two penalties that pushed them back into long yardage situations. With eight yards to go on fourth down, Joe Prince found Jarrod Anderson for a 35-yard pass play to bring the Lions to the Hamilton two-yard line. On the very next play, Hebert hauled the ball into the end zone from two yards out to give the Lions a 12-7 lead.
“We have to have confidence that we can throw,” said LeJeune on the big pass play. “If you give them a chance to make a play, they are good enough athletes to do that.”
The Vinton lead would be short lived as Hamilton’s Justin Griffin broke for a 70-yard run that gave the Warriors a 14-12 halftime lead.
The 12 Lions’ points in the first half were the first points Vinton has scored in a first half all year.
Hamilton put the game away with their first drive of the second half as they drove 54 yards in over five and a half minutes. Cameron Meyer ran the ball in from a yard out to give the Warriors a 21-12 advantage with 6:28 left in the third quarter.
The Lions got only two chances to score in the second half, but the first drive stalled out at the Warrior 29-yard line and the other ended with a Prince fumble.
“You have to make them count when that happens,” LeJeune said on the limited offensive series in the second half.
Griffin led all rushers with 118 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for the Warriors while Partin added 62 yards and a touchdown. Meyer went 2-for-6 passing for 63 yards while rushing for 16 yards on the ground.
Prince led Vinton with 88 rushing yards and threw for 76 yards while going 3-for-11. Hebert ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns for Vinton. Doc Roberts and Anderson each had one catch for 38 and 37 yards respectively.
The Lions will open District 4-2A play next week when they host Rosepine. Hamilton will travel to take on Basile in their District 4-1A opener.
“We have some good teams in our district,” LeJeune said. “I think we can play with most of them if we play good football. We haven’t played the type of football we need to play with them yet.”
