Jr. Vikes hold on to down Middle Champs

No matter the sport or the location of the game, there is always a distinct possibility that the fans are going to get their money's worth whenever Cascade and Community teams clash.

That was certainly never truer than on Thursday night in Unionville as the two junior high squads battled into the closing seconds before Community emerged victorious by a final score of 14-12.

Community (4-3) took the opening kickoff and steadily moved the ball to just over the midfield stripe before tailback Jeremy Warner took a handoff at the 44-yard line and outraced the Champion defense to the end zone to put his team ahead and set off a wild celebration among the fans.

The celebration proved to be short lived as Cole Claxton hushed the Purple and Gold crowd while inciting his team's faithful by returning the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to paydirt to tie the score at 6-all.

The Champs (1-5) defense held the Vikings offense in check over the next two series and then took the lead with 1:26 to play in the half when quarterback Jake Pimental hit receiver Hunter Seibers from 14 yards out. Viking defensive back Taylor Dowdy broke up the two-point conversion attempt and the half ended with the score 12-6 in favor of the visitors.

Both defenses tightened up in a scoreless third quarter as neither offense was able to sustain any kind of a prolonged drive against one another.

The trend continued until the Vikings were able to flip the field after a defensive stand that included two quarterback sacks resulted in them taking the ball over on the Cascade 20-yard line with just less than three minutes remaining.

"Our defense played well all night and that series was definitely the difference in the game," Community coach Aaron Reid said. "Our offense fed off of that energy and was able to get the job done to get the lead back a few plays later."

After a short gainer by Jose Villanueva, Warner took the handoff from Viking quarterback Jesse Cooper and took it to the house from the 14-yard line to tie the game.

It looked as if the game would remain deadlocked when the Champion defense stuffed the next play for a loss but it was all for naught as a yellow hanky awaited them as the dust settled for an inadvertent face mask penalty.

The ball was moved half the distance to the goal and then Cooper advanced it over the goal line on a quarterback keeper to make the score 14-12 in favor of the Vikings.

On the ensuing drive, Pimental calmly stepped up in the pocket and hit Seibers for a 15-yard gain to get the ball near the 50-yard line and it appeared that the Champs were on their way. Community then stopped the Champs on three consecutive downs to force a fourth down showdown with less than a minute showing on the clock.

It looked as if the Viking defense had ensured the win when Pimental's pass attempt fell harmlessly to the turf only to be called for roughing the passer, which gave the Champs an automatic first down.

The Orange and Black moved the ball inside the Viking 15 before Dowdy made the biggest play of his young career by intercepting a pass intended for what appeared to be a wide open Seibers to end one of the most exciting games of the middle school football season.

"It was a county game and it was played like one," Cascade coach David Parker said. "That is the way those types of games are supposed to be played.

"We had a good play set up there at the end and the receiver was open but Community had a good pass rush and caused us to throw the ball a little earlier than we would have liked.

"I would like to congratulate the Vikings. They did a fine job of getting their boys ready to play."

Cascade's season comes to a close with a record of 1-6.

"The game was so close that I probably won't be able to enjoy it until tomorrow," Reid said. "We made school history here tonight with our first win in seven tries against a program that we have a lot of respect for.

"It feels good. In fact, it feels great."