Van Vleck – The Van Vleck Leopards came out quickly and then used a dominating finish to their first win of the season over the St. Joseph Flyers last Friday night, Sept. 17.
With the win, Van Vleck improves to 1-3 on the season.
The Leopard special teams started things off with Kealin Callis recovering the opening kickoff to set Van Vleck up at the Flyer 29-yard line.
Van Vleck needed only four plays, as quarterback Payton Brown connected with Brysen Blackmon on a 11-yard pass for the touchdown.
Sam Brooks then converted on a 2-point play with KaDarius Woodard to give the Leopards a quick 8-0 lead.
St. Joseph cut into the Van Vleck lead early in the second quarter, going 34 yards on 7 plays, capped off by a Gage Barrera 2-yard run to make it 8-6 with 10:41 left in the second quarter.
The Flyers took advantage of a fumble recovery late in the second quarter and took the lead on a three-yard pass from Jackson Stefka to Gage Barrera to make it 13-8 heading into halftime.
Van Vleck made the correct adjustments at halftime, as the Leopards dominated the second half.
After trading off punts to begin the third quarter, the Leopards got on the scoreboard again.
This time, Van Vleck took good field position from the St. Joseph 30-yard line and moved down the field.
Running back Cam Austin scored from four yards out on the fifth play of the drive to push the Leopards back out in front 14-13.
Defensive lineman Garrett Chambless, who spent most of his time in the St. Joseph backfield, made a big play on the next Flyer drive to give Van Vleck the ball back at their own 49-yard line.
The Leopard offense turned the drive into points, as running back Woodard took it in from 20 yards out three plays later to push the lead to 20-13, with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
The Leopard defense continued to dominate, while the Van Vleck offense looked to score more. After another Leopard stop with big defensive plays by Chambliss and Wesley Moss, Van Vleck would reach paydirt again mid-way through the fourth period.
The Leopards took this drive from their own 27-yard line and scored in only five plays.
Woodard added his second touchdown of the night with an 11-yard scamper.
Austin added the extra point, extending the Leopard lead to 27-13.
The Van Vleck defense made another big play later in the quarter as a sack by Kanye Williams caused a St. Joseph fumble, which was recovered by Wesley Moss at the Flyer 5-yard line.
Woodard completed the scoring on the next play, taking it in for his third touchdown of the night. Austin booted the extra point to give Van Vleck their first win of the season.
“I thought the kids fought well tonight,” said Van Vleck Head Coach Rodney Dowell after the game.
“We started off better, and the kids never quit. We had some fumbling issues in the middle of the game, but we bounced back.
“The defensive coaches did a great job especially in the second half. It was good to get the win,” said Dowell.
Van Vleck will travel to Weimar this Friday before beginning district play.
Kickoff will be 7:30 p.m.
