Danville gives Vinemont a scare but falls to 0-4

By Staff
Paul Wilson, Enquirer Correspondent
VINEMONT – One more stop. One more opportunity on offense.
Those words, more or less, best describe how the Danville Hawks felt as they walked off the field following their 21-18 loss to Vinemont last Friday night at Eagle Stadium. The Hawks, without a doubt, played their best game of the season but it just was not enough as Danville fell to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in region play.
Danville began the game in impressive fashion as the Hawk offense went 58 yards in 13 plays for the first points of the evening. Making the drive even more impressive was the fact that all 13 plays were running plays. The Hawk offensive line consistently opened holes for the Danville backs, allowing them to run for a season-high 236 yards. Sophomore running Levi George did most of the damage on the drive, running for 54 yards on nine carries. George, who would finish the night with 184 yards on 32 carries, scored the touchdown on a 6-yard run on third-and-goal. Senior kicker Corey Evans added the extra point and with 5:46 left in the first period, Danville led 7-0.
The Danville defense also played well in the opening period. Vinemont had the ball for just seven plays and could gain only 18 yards the entire quarter.
The Vinemont offense took control in the second period, scoring twice to take a 14-7 lead into halftime. Eli Harris scored the first touchdown on a 3-yard run. Caleb Wunderlich kicked the extra point to tie the score at 7-7 with 7:19 left in the half.
The Vinemont defense forced a turnover to set up their next touchdown. On third-and-long Danville quarterback Tyler Beck had the ball stripped from him. Vinemont recovered the fumble to give the Eagles the ball at the Danville 34.
Five plays later the Eagles scored on a 16-yard pass from Cody Harris to Ryan Woljevach. Wunderlich's extra point was good and with 3:52 left in the second period, Vinemont had a 14-7 halftime lead.
On the Eagles' opening possession of the second half, the Hawks' defense forced a turnover at the Danville 3.
Just as they had to open the game, the Danville offense used a strong offensive line and George's running ability to put points on the scoreboard. A 15-play, 89-yard drive ended with a 23-yard Evans field goal to cut the Vinemont lead to 14-10 with 1:27 left in the third quarter.
Vinemont wasted little time responding to the Danville field goal as Eli Harris ran 59 yards on first down to put the Eagles ahead 21-10 after Wunderlich's extra point with just 0:03 left in the third.
Hawk freshman Clint McAbee brought the visiting fans to their feet with a 24-yard kick return, giving Danville the ball at the Vinemont 49. On the first play of the fourth quarter George scored his second touchdown of the night on a spectacular 49-yard run down the left sideline. George took the handoff on a trap over the left side and raced into the end zone.
The two-point try proved to be quite an adventure. On Danville's first attempt Beck rolled to his right and lofted a beautiful pass towards the back of the end zone into the waiting arms of senior wide receiver Jason Kilgore. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the play was called back due to an offensive penalty. The flag pushed the ball back to the 13 but that would not stop Danville. Beck rolled to his right once again but this time he fired a strike to Kilgore for the conversion. With no flags on the play, Danville had cut the Vinemont lead to 21-18 with 11:56 left.
Vinemont controlled the football for the rest of the game, moving down to the Danville 20 before taking a knee to end the game and escape with the victory.
Danville will take a break from region play Friday night, traveling a few miles east to take on Priceville at 7 p.m.