VikesWininOT

VIKINGS WIN IN OT
====These weren’t last year’s Panthers. Granville Central — in its second year of varsity football — gave Northern Vance all it could handle Friday night. In the end, the Vikes came up with the big stop in overtime to seal a 28-26 win. Northern battled back from a halftime deficit, keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard in the third and fourth quarters. Tied at 20 at the end of regulation, Viking running back Eric Jefferys found the end zone on the first play. Jefferys followed lead blocker Anthony Thorpe, who provided the wall for the touchdown score. Quarterback John Nelson took in the 2 by himself. After faking the handoff, he scrambled down the left side and plowed into the end zone. The Panthers, as they had for much of the game, relied on big back Zack Valentine on their drive. The senior pushed down to the 4 on his first carry, scoring on his next. On the 2-point attempt, the defense came up big. Geno Bullock and Diquon Hawley exploded into the backfield to disrupt the play and drop the runner for a loss to seal the win. “The defense did a great job on the 2-point conversion, so we’re going to enjoy this victory tonight,” said Northern coach Darian Harris. The one-win Panthers were a much tougher test than in 2009, when the Vikings rolled to a 52-13 win. “My hat’s off to Granville Central. They played a heck of a game. We knew coming in it was going to be a good game,” said Harris. The final minutes of the fourth quarter were filled with back-and-forth drama, and Northern wasn’t without a couple of breaks. With under 2:30 to play, Granville Central was forced to punt near midfield. The ball rolled into the end zone after it appeared to hit a Northern player. GCHS pounced on it, and Panther players raised their arms in touchdown celebration. However, a penalty against the Panthers forced them to rekick. On second down of the Vikes’ ensuing possession, Nelson made his biggest mistake of the night. His pass was picked off by Khadir Fulcher, and a horse collar penalty against Northern gave the Panthers first and 10 at the Viking 22 with 1:01 to play. But the Vikes were fortunate again. On third down, Tevin Hester took the handoff and fumbled. The Panthers recovered, but 13 yards back on their 31. Facing fourth and long from the 30 — with five seconds on the clock — quarterback Daron Smith fired a deep pass that was intercepted by Vincent Merritt near the end zone. The night didn’t start out well for the Vikings. A fumbled exchange was recovered by GC’s Martin Alston on the 33. Given the short field, Granville Central drove to the goal line, and Smith scored on a sneak from one yard out. The two point attempt failed, and GC led early 6-0. But one electric play from Steven Lewis Jr. turned the game the other way. Lewis fielded the squibbed kickoff after the TD near the 20. He turned it up field, broke a few tackles and slashed through the defense for an 80-plus-yard touchdown. Jake Ruggles’ point after gave Northern its first lead, 7-6. “We have some big playmakers on our team and when they touch the ball, they can really make things happen,” said Harris. “We have a lot of different guys who at different times step up and make plays, it’s just we need more consistency, and the penalties and turnovers are things we just can’t have.” After Northern was forced to punt on its next possession, Tevin Hester did his best impression of Devin Hester, returning the kick about 85 yards for a touchdown — but a block in the back call negated the score. On third down on the GC side of the field, Smith was hurried in the pocket, throwing the ball just before he was sacked. It was intercepted by Desmund Peterson, who ran it into the end zone, but the TD was called back by another illegal block call. Northern’s next drive culminated with a 37-yard touchdown strike from Nelson to Armani Williams. The PAT made it 14-6. The Vikings were kept off the scoreboard in the second quarter, with one drive ending with a fumble near midfield. GC converted a fourth and inches with a fake punt. Smith concluded that drive with a 21-yard TD pass to Hester. Northern led 14-13 after the PAT. With 2:10 left in the half, Smith put the Panthers on top again with a quick screen pass to Alston that was turned upfield for a 30-yard touchdown. The point after made it 20-14, where it would stay at the half. Harris said the team didn’t need any gameplan overhauls at the break. “We just didn’t execute well,” he said. “We figured... the gameplan that was in place was a good gameplan, we just had to execute.” “Again the silly turnovers, the penalties — those are the kind of things that are really hurting us and we’ve got to get better in those areas.” The Panthers got a heavy dose of Jefferys and Demontre’ Dozier on the Vikes’ opening second-half possession. A 10-yard Dozier rush gave Northern possession in the red zone, but flags were thrown for personal fouls by both teams. The penalties offset, but Northern’s Armani Williams and a GC player were thrown out of the game. The Vikings found paydirt on the drive with Tray Elam. Elam hauled in a play-action pass in the flat from Nelson and ran up the left side and in. Ruggles was rushed on the PAT, and the kick missed. With 8:35 left in the third, the score was tied at 20. Neither team scored again until the overtime period. Jefferys ended a Panthers drive on fourth down with an interception of a deep pass at the 16. Jeffreys came up big for the offense a little later with a 42-yard scamper near midfield. That drive stalled, and Northern was forced to punt. Another Northern penalty on a punt return pushed them back near their own end zone. On first and 14 from the 4, Nelson scrambled and got off an incomplete pass as he was nearly brought down for a safety. Nelson was hurt on the play and limped off the field. Tyquan Bryant came in in relief, but Nelson was back in at QB for the next possession. The Panthers had an opportunity with the short field. On fourth and 2 from the 25, Smith handed it off to Valentine, who was tackled about 1 foot short of the first down. Northern couldn’t mount much of an attack in the fourth. The Vikings did not cross midfield in the quarter. Nelson finished the game 11 of 14 for 105 yards, two touchdowns and the lone pick. “The good thing is, he’s understanding when he makes a mistake,” said Harris. “I think John is getting better. Even though he had the interception, he’s still trying to make plays and I think by the end of the season, he’s going to be a totally different quarterback.” Jefferys lead the team in rushing with 124 yards on 16 carries. Valentine had 79 yards on 18 carries. Smith finished 6 of 9 for 62 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. With the win, the Vikings (2-3) have already exceeded last year’s win total under first-year coach Harris. “We talk all the time about there’s no such thing as instant greatness, and John knows that, the team knows that. So we know what we’re trying to do and it’s not going to happen overnight,” said Harris. The Vikings have a bye next week, but return to action at Louisburg on Oct. 1. The Warriors fell to Southern Wayne 33-20 Friday night, according to HighSchoolOT.com. Contact the writer at erobinson@hendersondispatch.com. Read more: [|The Daily Dispatch - Vikes stop Panthers in OT] ====