Vidalia falls in season finale, 27-7

Published 12:05 am Friday, November 6, 2015

ALEXANDRIA, La. — The Vidalia Vikings were held to just two first downs and 31 total yards on offense as they fell in their season finale against Peabody High School 27-7.

Despite being stuffed offensively, the Vikings put up a fight on the defensive side of the ball, going toe-to-toe with the Warhorses.

“The defense played well and got better and better,” Vidalia head coach Jeff Hancock said. “They are a good team going to the playoffs, but we got some pressure on them and played well.”

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What did the Vikings in was the big play, mainly in the passing game.

Peabody scored all four touchdowns Thursday night through the air and Hancock credited their quarterback for making plays.

“We would get pressure, but the quarterback was mobile and scrambling around,” Hancock said. “He would chunk it out there and they would come down with it.”

Peabody found the end zone first late in the first quarter. After converting on a 3rd and 24, the Warhorses cashed in on a touchdown pass to Kevin Norman.

Midway through the second quarter, Peabody struck again, this time on a deep pass to Jamar Washington to push the lead to 14-0.

Peabody would then score on two more touchdown passes in the third quarter, first to Norman, his second of the night, followed by a touchdown pass to Keyon Gatson, giving the Warhorses a 27-0 lead.

Vidalia would manage to score in the fourth quarter, though, on a 3-yard run from quarterback Tristan Weatherly. The play was set up by a 39-yard pass to Julian Wilson on the previous play.

Weatherly finished 3-of-8 for 43 yards.

In the rushing game, Wilson was limited to just two yards on 12 carries, and was stopped behind the line of scrimmage six times.

Despite falling in the final game of the season, Hancock is optimistic about the future of the program. After going winless in 2014, the Vikings posted two wins this season, making the third year of the rebuild one Hancock is looking forward to.

“I thanked our seniors for everything,” Hancock said. “Next year is going to be the year when everything is paying off. We are going to be much better by and large. This season we played a lot of 9th and 10th graders and they battled and competed. That is going to pay off for us next year because we are going to have guys that are one, two and three year starters going up against guys who may just be in their first year.”

Vidalia finished the 2015 campaign 2-8 overall and 1-6 in district play.