Joey Smith ran wild for the Pickering Red Devils’ first win since Week 6 of 2008 in a 56-26 against the Vinton Lions on Friday night.
The Pickering win broke a 10-game losing streak for the Red Devils.
“For some reason, it’s extremely cold,” said Pickering head coach James Marcantel after his team had doused him after the victory. “It feels good and I told the kids I’ve been in this for a long time and I have done a little research; I really believe with all my heart that winning feels better than losing.”
In the first half, Smith rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns while Andre Porter added two more scores on 101 yards rushing in the first half to give Pickering a commanding 42-6 lead at halftime.
The lone Lion score came in the second quarter when junior quarterback Joe Prince ran the ball in from five yards out to put Vinton on the scoreboard. It had looked liked Pickering had held Vinton to a three-and-out, but a low punt from Kelby Hebert deflected off a Red Devil and the Lions recovered the live ball to extend the drive to set up the touchdown.
Smith touched the ball only four more times, but that accounted for 89 yards in the third quarter including a 60 yard touchdown run to give Pickering a 49-6 lead.
Smith finished the game with 252 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns to lead all rushers.
“Joey’s a good running back,” said Marcantel. “I think the cool weather helped Joey because he plays running back and linebacker. He’s been getting fatigued early and tonight the weather helped.”
Vinton was able to answer the Red Devil touchdown with a score of their own. A 34-yard pass from Prince to Jarrod Anderson set the Lions up at the Pickering 16-yard line where Hebert was able to punch in the ball for the score to cut the lead to 49-12 going into the fourth quarter.
“I was really pleased with our seniors with their leadership in the second half,” said Vinton head coach Wendell LeJeune. “They got some of the younger kids to come out with a spark and trying to do some stuff.”
With their first possession of the final period, the Lions found the end zone again. Dieon Sonnier broke free for a 59 yard run to make the score 49-18 just seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Red Devils ate up clock and yards on a six-play drive that ended with Porter’s third touchdown of the game to seal the win with a 56-18 score. Porter finished the game with 173 yards and three scores on 14 carries.
“Their running attack has always been their forte and they are good at it,” LeJeune said. “They throw little wrinkles at you and you can’t really see what they are doing. Our young kids were a step off. We are just not aggressive enough.”
The Lions were able to move the ball down the field on a 10-play drive that was capped off by Katlyn Caswell’s two-yard run to make the 56-26 final score.
Sonnier led the Vinton rushing attack with 15 carries for 142 yards with a touchdown and Hebert added 69 yards on eight carries for the Lions with a score.
Prince ran for 39 yards on 10 carries and threw for 34 yards while completing 1-of-6 passes with an interception.
Gett Thomas led the Red Devils with 64 yards while going 4-for-5 with an interception and a touchdown. Cody Compton led the Pickering receivers with 25 yards on two catches and a touchdown.
Both teams will hit the road next week as Vinton will travel to Longville to take on South Beauregard and the Red Devils will go to Dry Creek and play East Beauregard.
Pickering, La. —
