Vilonia defense sees momentum go in its favor
GREENBRIER Vilonia learned some difficult lessons about momentum this season, and Thursday night, the learning experience paid off as the Eagles defeated 5A-West Conference and Faulkner County rival Greenbrier 47-7 in the annual Judge's Cup battle.
Trailing 12-0 at halftime, Greenbrier began the second half by recovering an onside kick. Three plays later, Greenbrier scored on a 24-yard touchdown run by Hunter Winston. The PAT cut the Eagles' lead to 12-7.
On the ensuing drive, Vilonia was held to a three-and-out. But the Eagles would not falter. On Greenbrier's first play after a Vilonia punt, Eagles' defensive back Tucker Moix intercepted a pass and returned it to Greenbrier's 13. Four plays later, quarterback Drew Knowles snuck in from a yard out. Aaron Oade added a run for the 2-point conversion to make the score 20-7, and from there, the Eagles never looked back.
"We lost two games because of that very same thing," Vilonia coach Jim Stanley said of Greenbrier's gaining momentum to begin the second half. "Somebody would come and get the momentum, and we'd panic and just mess up.
"I was so proud of them because when (Greenbrier) did that to our kids, it didn't even faze them. That just shows me they've matured. They weathered the storm and just kept fighting."
Defensively, the Eagles forced six turnovers. Vilonia's secondary intercepted four passes, including three by Zac Mitchell.
"I'm really proud of the secondary," Stanley said. "They've come so far. In the 5A West, you learn fast and boy, I tell you what, it's been a hard year on them.
"They worked hard. They've come a long way."
Offensively, the Eagles were able to grind away on the ground, chewing up yardage and time. Vilonia had the ball for just over 19 of the 24 second-half minutes. Oade gained 145 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns and two 2-point conversions. Stanley estimated that Oade was only going at 75 percent due to injury.
Marcus Brewer added 106 yards on the ground for the Eagles.
For Greenbrier, Thursday night was a difficult ending to a trying season. But as they've done all season, the Panthers heeded the words of head coach Randy Tribble to "battle."
"I thought we played hard," Tribble said. "I'm proud of that. The execution wasn't there. They had too many chances offensively."
Looking back on his first season as Greenbrier's head coach, Tribble found some positives while acknowledging that there is much work to be done.
"Our kids battled," Tribble said. "Next year everybody's going to be a year used to us coaches and our system.
"We took some lumps this year, and I hope during the offseason we'll remember that and we know we've got to get more physical and stronger and be able to compete better."