Vikings qwin defensive battle

Oct. 16—ELIZABETHTOWN-The West Columbus Vikings defeated the East Bladen Eagles for a 24-8 victory on Friday nights in a Waccamaw Conference clash. It was Senior Nights for the Eagles and they recognized 15 seniors before the start of the game — Masion Brooks, Darius Williamson, Rodney Lacewell, Jalil Hayes, Elijah Cain, Kalec Autry, Kayden McKoy, Jadon Pridgen, Chris Harding, Micah Rivera, Jayden Daily, Na'Toren Corbett, Jamarius Smith, Blaine Pope and Matthew Kemp.

The game was a defensive battle between both teams but penalties against East Bladen gave their opponents the edge in the end. West Columbus have now jumped ahead of the Eagles for first place in the Waccamaw Conference after snapping their opponents four game unbeaten run. The Viking's were led by senior Jaylen Bellamy with 107 yards on the ground and he had a handful of catches as the main man on the offensive side of the ball.

East Bladen started the first quarter with the ball but found it difficult to move the ball on the first drive for a quick 3-and-out. West Columbus started with the ball on their own 32-yard line after the punt and started their drive going backwards after a tackle for loss from senior defensive-tackle Jamarius Smith. The Vikings responded with an 11 yard connection between senior quarterback Unique Kelly and running-back Jahan Lasane-Powell for a first down.

The Vikings went backwards with a false start but got 12 yards back on a pass from Kelly to bring up 2nd-and-3. The Eagles defensive-line got in the backfield to tackle Powell two yards behind the line-of-scrimmage and Masion Brooks sacked Kelly on the next play to stall the Vikings offense at 4th-and-10 from around the 30 to force a punt.

East Bladen's next drive started on their own 31 and they were quickly faced with 3rd-and-5 after a couple of runs. West Columbus senior defensive-end DJ Bryant bull-rushed his way into the backfield for a sack on the next play for a huge loss to force a punt. West Columbus started their next drive on a short field after the punt away from the host landed around their own 45-yard line.

Kelly sprinted 10 yards for a positive gain on the first play to give the Vikings momentum towards their opponents goal line. The Eagles defense held firm at the goal line and forced their opponents to turn the ball over on downs as time dwindled down in the first quarter. East Bladen started the second quarter pinned back in their own endzone and a fumble at the one was recovered by their opponents for an easy six points.

The Vikings went up 7-0 after senior kicker Ryan Strickland sent the extra-point through the uprights with 11:55 remaining in the first half. The Eagles offense came back onto the field after the turnover and were able to get a huge gain from Brooks on a 25 yard run. They were able to get into the red zone after a 15 yard penalty on West Columbus and Brooks was able to run the ball to the 10 to get them within striking distance of the endzone.

West Columbus junior defensive-end Tony Jordan pushed the host backwards with a tackle for loss to bring up 4th-and-7. The Eagles kept their offense on the field for fourth down but were pushed backwards some more after a delay of game penalty. Junior quarterback Kewone Maynor threw a deep ball into the endzone that was caught by junior wideout Malaki Moore but was ruled out of bounds to turn the ball over on downs.

West Columbus found themselves in a 3rd-and-long situation during their next possession after Eagles defenders corralled Kelly in the backfield for a 12 yard loss. Kelly connected with senior wideout Jahmir Dorsey but was well short of the first down and the Vikings brought their punt unit on the field.

East Bladen were able to get off the line and block the ensuing punt to set their offense up on the 45-yard line. The Eagles were able to dash towards the red zone in a hurry after Moore caught a pass and juked a couple of defenders for a 20 yard gain. Brooks would be held to 3rd-and-5 after a short run and the Eagles would be hit with a false start penalty to lose another five yards to bring up 3rd-and-10.

Maynor would make up for the loss with an eight yard gain to make it 4th-and-2 with under a minute in the first half. The Eagles converted on fourth down to keep their drive alive as seconds ticked off the clock. Maynor attempted to throw on the next play but missed his receivers' outstretched arms in the endzone with 23 seconds remaining. A delay of game penalty pushed the Eagles in the opposite direction of the endzone and they were faced with a 4th-and-15 situation in a couple of plays.

The Eagles kept their offense on the field for fourth down but were pushed back even further behind the sticks after an unsportsmanlike penalty. The host eventually turned the ball over on downs to conclude the first half at 7-0. West Columbus was held scoreless for much of the third quarter but were able to catch a break after two straight penalties set them outside the goal line. Lesane-Powell powered his way into the endzone from three yards out and the Vikings went up 14-0 with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.

East Bladen closed the third quarter with a punt away to the visitors after Bryant got his second sack of the night. West Columbus opened the fourth quarter with a huge 54-yard touchdown run from Bellamy as he scampered around the edge to find some daylight on the first play of the drive. The Eagle got a good kickoff return from Smith and their offense returned to the field determined to score. Maynor would eventually find Corbett for an 11 yard touchdown reception with 8:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Eagles failed to convert the 2-point conversion so the score was 21-6 in the final quarter of play.

The Vikings started with the ball on the 50-yard line after recovering the onside kick and were able to capitalize on the short field by marching down to the redzone. East Bladen defense kept their opponents out of the endzone but Strickland was able to convert his field goal from the 26 yard line to extend the lead to 24-6. The Vikings took an intentional safety at the end of the game to make the score 24-8.

East Bladen will play their final regular-season game against Whiteville in a Waccamaw Conference clash this Friday.