Blue Devils Fall To Vikings
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Junior wideout Derion Gale is upended and comes down hard in Thursday’s game against the Vikings. Gale had 21 receiving yards and 38 kick return yards in the game.
WATER VALLEY – The MHSAA moved the week two bout between the homestanding Water Valley Blue Devils and the Class 4A North Pontotoc Vikings to Thursday, September 5, due to a shortage of referees in the Northwest Mississippi Officials’ Association. While the Blue Devils hung with the bigger school for almost three quarters, the Vikings ultimately pulled away to win 41 to 19 and force the Devils to fall to (0-2) on the young season.
The Vikings forced the Blue Devils to quickly go three and out. A failed fake punt set up the Vikings with field position at midfield. The Vikings quickly matriculated down the field and scored on a quarterback keeper off left tackle to take a six to zero lead. The Point After Attempt (PAT) failed.
Both defenses held the other offense in check for the remainder of the first frame. The Blue Devils ended the stalemate with a six-yard Zae Bradford rush to tie the game at six apiece.
The Blue Devils’ PAT attempt failed on a missed long snap to keep the deadlock. The remainder of the first half would be back and forth as the Vikings scored on another quarterback run, this time from 13-yards out and added the PAT.
Reid Burress closes in the for the tackle.
The Blue Devils answered as senior defensive Lineman Ezaryon “Bug” Riley had a sack and a blocked punt in back-to-back plays. Riley would go on to recover the blocked punt for a touchdown. Junior kicker Gabe Butler would add the PAT out of the hold of Tyler Richardson.
In what was a strange play right before the half, the Vikings hit a receiver in the right flat and it appeared that the Devils Defense had him stopped for no gain until a trio of defenders knocked each other off the receiver and he scampered into the end zone for a 57-yard scoring strike. This left the halftime score North Pontotoc 20, Water Valley 13.
The game got exciting as the Blue Devils Junior Corner Kamauri Page intercepted the Vikings quarterback and the Blue Devils’ offense controlled the ground game in the third quarter. The Blue Devils found paydirt yet again as sophomore signal caller Tre Adams scored on a seven-yard rush.
The PAT attempt failed again with another missed snap. From then on out, it was all Vikings as they mustered two more rushing scores and scored on a interception returned for a touchdown.
“We are close. You might not see it and the fans might not see it, but we are close,” Head Coach Clint Faust told the players in the postgame huddle. “We must find a way to fight for four complete quarters in all phases of the game. We must care enough to be at practice to clean up our mistakes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We have to care as much those days as we do right now as we are hurting and upset.”
Offensively, the Blue Devils were paced by junior Zae Bradford as he had 97 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. Junior wideout Derion Gale added 21 receiving yards and 38 kick return yards.
Defensively, senior defensive lineman Donalvin Wilson had 13 total tackles, five for loss, three sacks, and four hurries while senior linebacker Reid Burress added 10 total tackles.
Things do not get any easier as the Blue Devils host perennial 1A Powerhouse Baldwyn Bearcats on Friday, September 13, at 7 p.m. at Bobby Clark Field.
The 1963 undefeated conference championship Team will be honored as part of the game festivities.
