Danville rally falls short at Vinemont

By By Paul Wilson, For the Hartselle Enquirer
VINEMONT - Vinemont’s defense came up with the big play to hold off Danville Friday night.
The Eagles sacked Danville quarterback Caleb Hill to end a late Hawks scoring threat to preserve a 20-12 Class 3A, Region 7 victory.
Vinemont’s defense kept Danville out of the end zone after the Hawks had driven inside the Vinemont 20 three times in the second half.
Two controversial pass interference calls in the first half kept alive a Vinemont drive and the Eagles scored several plays later to take a 13-12 lead at the half.
It was a lead the Eagles would not surrender the rest of the night.
Danville got the scoring started on an 11-yard pass from Caleb Hill to Tyler Beck, who finished with six catches for 56 yards.
The extra point was no good but the Hawks led 6-0 with 4:06 left in the opening quarter.
Danville’s drive covered 62 yards in 10 plays.
The big play in the drive was a well-designed fake punt in which Hill took the football and ran 26 yards down the right sideline to give the Hawks a first down at the Vinemont 17.
Three plays later, Hill and Beck connected for the touchdown.
Just as special teams set up Danville’s first score, the Eagles got their score two plays after a blocked punt gave Vinemont the ball at the Hawk 27.
On second-and-6, Vinemont running back Eli Harris ran 23 yards for the score. The extra point was good and Vinemont led 7-6 with nine seconds left in the quarter.
Danville would re-take the lead on their next possession. Starting on the Vinemont 40 following a 50-yard kick return by Clint McAbee, the Hawks scored on a 5-yard run by senior Levi George. George, who battled the flu all last week, would finish the night with 86 yards on 13 carries. Danville’s try for two failed and the Hawks had a 12-7 lead with 9:42 left in the 1st half.
The second half was not nearly so kind to the Hawks.
Danville’s final drive of the night was set up by another return by McAbee.
The junior caught a Vinemont punt at the Eagle 45 and then raced up the field 33 yards before being tackled at the 12.
With just 24 seconds left and Danville out of timeouts, Vinemont came up with a big defensive stop, sacking Hill on a first-and-10 play.
The clock continued to run and Hill’s final desperation pass fell incomplete in the end zone, giving the Eagles the victory.
The loss drops Danville’s record to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the region. Vinemont moves to 6-2, 4-2.
Danville will travel to Blount County Friday to face J.B. Pennington in a 7 p.m. game with a playoff spot on the line.