Vigor shuts down Williamson 12-0 in battle of top teams and defenses

 

 

 

By ARTHUR L. MACK

MOBILE — Demetrius Johnson rushed for 199 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown and No. 3-ranked Vigor unleashed a stifling defense led by Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror as the Wolves shut down No. 1-ranked Williamson 12-0 before approximately 11,000 fans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium Thursday night.

Johnson scored on a 59-yard run in the second quarter to break a scoreless tie and Jhi Brown, who shared quarterbacking duties with Anthony Gill, caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Gill midway through the fourth quarter to seal the deal for Vigor (7-1, 4-1 4A Region 1), which may have sent a message to the rest of the state that it is a serious state championship contender.

The Lions (6-1, 4-1) came into the game leading Class 4A in scoring defense with four shutouts and having given up just 25 points all season. But it was the Wolves’ third-ranked defense that throttled Williamson, which struggled to a net 1 yard rushing. Meanwhile, quarterback Thad Wilder was harassed by Vigor’s pass rush and completed 8 of 16 passes for only 35 yards and an interception.

“I know a whole lot of people didn’t believe that we had a good defense, too, but I know we had a good defense as well,” Wolves coach Renardo Jackson said. “We’ve got some high-caliber kids playing for us and a great coaching staff as well. We knew coming in that our kids, if we put it together, we can play defense with the best in the state.”

Vigor got some momentum on Johnson’s 59-yard touchdown run with 7:52 left in the first half for a 6-0 lead.

“When (Gill) called it up, I told the O-line we just needed just one hard push,” Johnson said. “They gave me that hard push, I busted it and I scored. It gave us a whole bunch of momentum.”

It remained a one-score game until 6:29 to go, when Gill converted a fourth-and-2 by finding an open Brown in the far-right corner of the end zone.

 

Leroy 28,

S. Choctaw 6

 

Jace Sellers threw three touchdown passes and Ian White rushed for 111 yards and a score as the Bears clinched the 1A Region 1 title in Leroy.

Sellers completed 14 of 28 passes for 167 yards and White had 111 of Leroy’s 145 yards on the ground.

“This wasn’t our best performance of the season but I’m happy to walk out with a win,” said Bears coach Chan Lowe, whose team won its seventh straight game after an 0-2 start.

After a scoreless first quarter, Leroy (7-2, 6-0) broke through with 10:32 remaining in the second quarter when Sellers connected with Ayden Tolbert on a 4-yard touchdown pass. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0.

The Indians (3-5, 3-3) answered with 7:10 left in the half when quarterback Quentorius Bender scored on a 35-yard keeper to cut the lead to 8-6.

White extended the lead with an 8-yard TD run with 2:26 remaining before halftime to make it 14-6.

The Bears added to their lead with 7:16 left in the third quarter when Sellers found Noal Bragg for an 11-yard score. A successful two-point conversion pushed the margin to 22-6.

Sellers capped the scoring with a 13-yard TD pass to Jayden Collins with 2:42 remaining.

“I am really proud of the way our defense played tonight,” Lowe said. “With the exception of that one big play, they were able to contain Southern Choctaw’s offense.”

The Indians finished with 169 rushing yards, led by Bender’s 77 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

— Willie Gray