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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

FPD makes statement in shutout

FPD entered Friday night needing to make a statement. The Vikings did exactly that, taking out the frustrations of a tough couple of weeks at the expense of Mount de Sales.

Having lost two of its past three games, FPD secured a nice boost of momentum entering next week’s GISA Class AAA playoffs with a 35-0 dismantling of the Cavaliers. Both teams will return to action next week in the first round of the playoffs with FPD hosting Trinity Christian.

“It’s an understatement to say it’s a big win for us. Let’s be honest, we’ve been a little bit frustrated. To our kids’ credit, they have kept faith in what we’re trying to do, and I’m very happy for them,” FPD head coach Greg Moore said.

FPD took control early by keeping the ball on the ground and controlling the game’s tempo, taking a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a pair of Ryan Smith rushing touchdowns.

All told, Smith scored four times for the Vikings, three times on running plays. His first rushing score came when he caught the Cavaliers’ defense off-guard on a keeper around the left side. Some 55 yards later, he was in the end zone. Smith’s 45-yard run in the second quarter put FPD up 14-0. Smith, who finished with nine carries for 126 yards and scored the Vikings’ final touchdown in the third quarter, was hardly the entire offensive attraction. As a team, the Vikings rushed for 337 yards with Nick Mullis carrying the ball 12 times for 71 yards and Wesley Gilbert picking up 61 yards. It was the collective running of the Vikings’ backfield and the hard work of the offensive line that put Smith in position to score three times on the ground, as far as FPD is concerned.

“We got a great push from the guys up front, everybody played assignment football and did their job,” Smith said. “They set up a bunch of scores, and you have to honor them all the times. In an option you have three options, you can either go with a dive, to the quarterback or go to the pitch.”

But if the Vikings’ offense hit Mount de Sales with a couple of early jabs, it was FPD’s defense and special teams that landed the heavy shots.

With less than two minutes left in the first half, the Vikings’ Tim Stokes broke through the line to block a Mount de Sales punt. A play later, Smith found Taylor Harden in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown pass and 21-0 FPD lead.

Then, in the closing seconds of the first half with Mount de Sales threatening to get on the scoreboard as it drove into FPD territory, the Vikings defense flushed MdS quarterback Bradley Smith out of the pocket. He then lost control of the ball, which FPD’s David Lambert scooped up and returned 48 yards for the touchdown.

“Our defense has been super all year long, and they were great again (Friday), they really were,” Moore said. “When you’re winning on the defensive side of the ball and then you keep the field position like you want it and get the special teams play, that’s a lot to overcome. Obviously it set the tone for the rest of the ballgame for us.”