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GALLIPOLIS — It took just four plays for Vinton County to understand the task at hand on Friday.
The Vikings knew a long night of work laid ahead, and although they were up for the challenge, it proved to be more than they could handle.
Gallia Academy (9-2) had too much speed in all three phases of the game, scoring early and often while earning a dominant 34-6 victory over Vinton County in a Division IV, Region 15 first-round playoff game.
“We did 7-on-7’s against Vinton County in the summer, and there was a lot of talk so we knew this would be a big game,” Gallia Academy’s Hudson Shamblin said. “20 [Vinton County’s Garrett Brown] is a huge piece for them and it’s not easy tackling him, so we focused a lot on stopping the run.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Gary’s On the Spot Photos
Things couldn’t have started out any better for the Blue Devils.
On the second play of the game, the Vikings (9-2) went deep, but the pass was picked off by Gallia’s Kenyon Franklin
“We love Kenyon, he’s a great player, great guy and a huge part of our team,” Gallia Academy’s Hunter Shamblin said. “He makes plays like that all the time, whether it’s as a safety on defense or being a receiver on offense.”
On the Blue Devils’ second play from scrimmage, Hudson Shamblin took a toss and went 45 yards untouched for the touchdown to put them ahead 7-0.
“As soon as that interception happened, we had the whole stands pumped up and we continued to feed off that energy,” Hudson Shamblin said. “I know I had to take it to the house if I got the ball. Our receivers practice blocking everyday, so I had trust in them and hit the outside for the score.”
After a Viking punt, the Blue Devils used their speed on the outside to drive down the field with one big play after another. The drive ended with a four-yard touchdown from Hunter Shamblin, extending the lead to 14-0.
However, the hits continued coming, and the Vikings couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Gallia took to the air and Braylan Rathburn rolled to his left before finding Hudson Shamblin for a 37-yard touchdown, pushing the score to 21-0.
It was back to Hunter Shamblin on the next drive, and he scored for the second time on a 14-yard touchdown, making it 27-0 at halftime.
“We know they were going to come in wanting to run the ball since they don’t throw that much,” Hunter Shamblin said. “Our main thing was to fill in the gaps and make it tough to run their offense.”
Although the Vikings showed fight in the second half, the hole already dug was too deep to climb out of.
Rathburn capped his team’s scoring as he threw his second touchdown pass of the night, this one to Franklin, on a 12-yard connection. Meanwhile, Vinton County found the end zone late in the fourth on a four-yard run from Brown to end the night and the Vikings’ season.
While Vinton County’s season ends at 9-2, Gallia Academy will be playing football in November.
The Devils will travel to Sheridan for a second round game at 7 p.m., this coming Friday.
“We’ll get back to work on Monday and come up with a game plan,” Hunter Shamblin said. “It’s going to be a rough game, but we’ll be ready and hope to advance.”
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