Yellow Jackets top Billingsley 24-8 in Region 4 matchup
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 11, 2005
&8221;Probably one of the best games we’ve played in some time.&8220;
Those were the words of Vincent head football coach Dwight Spradley after his Yellow Jackets defeated the Billingsley Bears, 24-8, on the road last Friday night.
Spradley had praise for both his offensive line and defense as Vincent improved to 4-1 in region play and 4-3 overall.
He said the team had a good week of practice that carried over to last Friday night’s contest.
He said down 8-6 at the half, &8221;The kids stayed focused, never panicked&8220; and &8221;basically dominated the second half.&8220;
Spradley said the Yellow Jackets also didn’t turn the football over in the second half.
But Spradley said the difference against Billingsley was &8221;the way we practiced.&8220; He said practice for the Bears was &8221;as good as we’ve practiced in years.&8220;
Spradley acknowledged the play of Steven Adams, who scored on touchdown runs of 45, 11 and 59 yards and threw a 23-yard pass for another, as well as Desmond Yowe, who carried the ball 19 times for 161 yards.
But he said the group that really deserved credit was the Yellow Jackets’ offensive line &8221;for the way they blocked&8220; and the entire defense for &8221;its intensity.&8220;
&8221;Steven and Desmond had really good rushing nights. That was a product of the excellent offensive line play. When everyone’s doing their job, it makes everyone look good,&8220; Spradley said.
He also said the defense played hard for four quarters against a team that had some weapons on offense including &8221;as good a quarterback as we’ve faced.&8220;
On the night, Butch Grimmett had 16 tackles and one sack; Aramis Norwood had 15 tackles; and Justin Peterson had 14 tackles and three sacks.
Adams completed two of five passes for 39 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He rushed 11 times for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
Leo Chancellor caught one pass for 23 yards and a touchdown and Darnell Swain caught one pass for 16 yards.
In addition to two interceptions, the Yellow Jackets fumbled three times, losing the ball twice.
&8221;Had it not been for those (turnovers), it would have been a really good game,&8220; Spradley said.
Against Billingsley, the Yellow Jackets trailed 8-6 at the half having scored on a 45-yard Adams run.
The Jackets took the lead over the Bears, 12-8, in the third quarter on an 11-yard Adams run and pulled away in the fourth quarter on a 59-yard Adams run and a 23-yard pass from Adams to Chancellor.
Next up for Vincent is Pickens County for homecoming. But this is not the kind of team one invites to homecoming on purpose.
Spradley said Pickens County is 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the region.
He said the Yellow Jackets would need another week of practice like they had for Billingsley and be ready to play this Friday for a chance to win