Charles Haskins of the Vikings gets his toe down to complete a 12-yard pass from Nyles Barnett for a touchdown. (Post Photo by Rickey Clardy)
Wilson Richmond finds an opening and gains yardage for the Vikings. (Post Photo by Rickey Clardy)
By RICKEY CLARDY
Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL — The Community Vikings showed a marked improvement in their offense as the Vikings collected 13 first downs in their matchup with the Forrest Rockets, but the third quarter proved to be the downfall for the Vikings as the Rockets increased their halftime advantage and went on to defeat Community 55-14 in a football contest Friday night.
After a Viking three-and-out to start the game, the Rockets needed just three plays to dent the scoreboard as Aiden Cantrell connected with Branham Haynes for a 42-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Isai Garcia put Forrest up 7-0 with 8:57 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Rockets upped their lead on their next possession as Quincy Mitchell sprinted 10 yards for the score to give Forrest a 13-0 lead with 5:02 left.
After a slow start out of the gate, the Viking offense was clicking on all cylinders on their next possession as Community adeptly moved the ball 67 yards on 12 plays that culminated in a score.
With quarterback Nyles Barnett completing passes to Severen Garman, Luis Butler, Isaac Jacobs, and Wilson Richmond, the Vikings moved into the red zone as the quarter ended.
After the Vikings coaxed the Rockets into an offsides penalty on fourth down to extend the Community possession, the Vikings faced a third-and-nine at the Forrest 12.
Community was true to the test as Barnett connected with his fifth receiver on the drive as Charles Haskins stayed inbounds in the end zone and hauled in the 12-yard pass for the touchdown. The Barnett to Haskins combination worked on the conversion as the Vikings cut the Rocket lead to 13-8 with 9:24 remaining in the second quarter.
“We got together as a team and the team leaders said we’ve got some time before practice and we want to throw some,” Coach Chris Grooms of the Vikings said.
“They started throwing some routes and getting their hands hot and I think it paid off this week.”
The Rockets wasted little time before scoring on their next drive as Mitchell ran 11 yards for a touchdown to give Forrest a 20-8 lead with 7:42 remaining.
The Vikings threatened on the next possession, but a Forrest interception thwarted the drive.
The Rockets responded on their ensuing possession as Mitchell scored his third touchdown from two yards out as the Rockets took a 26-8 lead to the intermission.
Two Rocket touchdowns with a Viking interception sandwiched between helped Forrest to extend its advantage in the third quarter.
Another touchdown run by Mitchell, this one for 28 yards and a 15-yard pass from Cantrell to Haynes gave the Rockets a 41-8 lead with 8:43 left.
The fifth touchdown by Mitchell on a 20-yard run gave the Rockets a 48-8 lead heading to the final quarter.
Jason Patrick put the Rockets up 55-8 with a 3-yard run to start the quarter before the Vikings put another drive together for their final touchdown.
After starting at their 33, the Vikings used three passes from Barnett to Jacobs to advance into Rocket territory.
A reverse by Jacobs for 14 yards gave Community a first down before Barnett teamed up with Haskins for 26 yards and their second touchdown combination as Community ended the scoring for the night.
“Haskins finds a way to get open,” Grooms said. “He and Isaac run so many routes for us.”
“They think we’re going short and we end up getting them deep,” Grooms added.
The Vikings began their possessions in good position with the help of their kickoff returns.
“The first two weeks, we had people running east and west, and I told them we need to go north and south,” Grooms said. “When we went north and south, we were getting the ball about the 40.”
Community travels to Cascade next Friday night in the Battle of Bedford as the two teams meet for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Community 0 8 0 6 — 14
Forrest 13 13 22 7 — 55
First Quarter
F — Branham Haynes 42 pass from Aiden Cantrell (Isai Garcia kick) 8:57.
F — Quincy Mitchell 10 run (kick failed) 5:02.
Second Quarter
C — Charles Haskins 12 pass from Nyles Barnett (Haskins pass from Barnett) 9:24.
F — Mitchell 11 run (Garcia kick) 7:42.
F — Mitchell 2 run (kick failed) 1:34.
Third Quarter
F — Mitchell 28 run (Mitchell run) 11:07.
F — Haynes 15 pass from Cantrell (Garcia kick) 8:43.
F — Mitchell 20 run (Garcia kick) 1:11.
Fourth Quarter
F — Jason Patrick 3 run (Garcia kick) 11:02.
C — Haskins 26 pass from Barnett (pass failed) 3:11.
