VIkings Ground Gryphons for Third Straight Win

The Avery Vikings used a kickoff return touchdown to ignite a 37-point first half scoring outburst and bury the visiting Thomas Jefferson Gryphons 51-0 on a wet, cool Friday night at MacDonald Stadium.

It was the Big Red’s first encounter on the gridiron against the newest member of the Western Highlands Conference, but the Vikings ensured the first time would be long remembered as a dominant performance by the hometown club.

Trent Mitchell started the scoreboard fireworks, fielding the Gryphon opening kickoff at his own 21-yard line and weaving through blocks to race 79 yards for the first points of the night.

The Gryphons witnessed many black jerseys crossing the goal line over the course of the four quarters of play. On TJCA’s first offensive series, the Viking defense got into the scoring act early when the Gryphons long-snapper overshot the snap to punter Aaron Conner. Avery was denied the touchdown when Thomas Jefferson recovered the football in the end zone, but the safety pushed the Vikings ahead by a 9-0 score.

After free kicking the ball back to Avery, the offense had its turn at the Gryphons defense. Quarterback Alex Villanueva made it look easy as he found wide receiver Andy Gonzalez on a 35-yard touchdown pass, upping the Avery advantage to 16-0.

Following a TJCA punt, Avery’s offensive machine was poised to score once again. The Thomas Jefferson defense experienced one of its few bright spots of the game, as safety Will Beam intercepted a long pass attempt from Villanueva.

The turnover seemed to energize the Gryphons, as the visitors moved the football across midfield with its spread offense. Avery helped the TJCA cause by committing 25 yards in penalties on the drive. Despite the assistance, however, the Vikings defense made amends as John Masters forced a fumble from Jefferson’s quarterback Beam. Defensive back Tyler Long scooped up the loose pigskin, but fumbled the ball at the Gryphons 35-yard line, only for teammate Hunter Shields to fortuitously grab the ball and tote it to the TJCA six-yard line.

Avery’s offense experienced little resistance throughout the course of the night, proved once again as Villanueva took advantage of good blocking and his own athleticism to jaunt six yards to pay dirt. With just over a quarter expired, Avery led 23-0.

Thomas Jefferson again punted after another three-and-out, giving the football back to the Avery offense. The Vikings did not need possession for long, as a two-play drive was capped by a 29-yard touchdown strike from Villanueva to wide receiver Taylor Potter. The PAT pushed Avery’s lead to 20-0 with half the second quarter remaining on the clock.

Already facing a huge deficit, Thomas Jefferson head coach Tony Helton chose to go for a fourth down conversion on its own 26-yard line. The gamble failed, Avery regained possession, and scored another touchdown on its longest drive of the half (four plays, 26 yards) as Villanueva found Gonzalez with a 13-yard scoring pass.

The Vikings lead could have been greater as Tyler Long intercepted a Gryphon pass in its final series of the half and raced 38 yards to the end zone. A penalty against the Big Red negated the score, however, and Avery had to settle for a 37-0 lead at halftime.

The second half was a showcase for Avery junior Colton Blackburn, as he scored touchdowns on both sides of the football.

Blackburn intercepted a Gryphon pass attempt deep in its own territory, going into the end zone untouched for a 13-yard interception return touchdown. Avery’s final touchdown of the night came by virtue of Blackburn. Following a TJCA punt, Avery ran its first and only offensive play of the third quarter: a 91-yard touchdown run by Blackburn. One of the longest runs in school history, the score put the Vikings over the half-century mark on the scoreboard for the third time this season. Kicker Andres Castaneda converted his seventh PAT in seven attempts to close the scoring.

The ballgame took around an hour and a half to complete as a running clock was utilized for the final three quarters of play to speed up the game.

Avery held the Gryphons to negative net yardage for the game while forcing a pair of turnovers and recording four sacks.

“The game gave us an opportunity to work on our passing game as well as our pass defense. The biggest thing is it gives us confidence as we go into next week 2-0 in conference sitting there tied with Hendersonville,” Avery head coach Darrell Brewer said after the win. “Anytime you get a win, it’s good. I’m a firm believer that teams learn how to win, and I think that’s big to teach our kids. We preached to our team all week the importance of being prepared to play and spent time in practice working on both the opponent as well as on Avery. We didn’t take them lightly and the kids came out to play.”

The win sets up a showdown with the Hendersonville Bearcats on the road next week with sole possession of first place in the Western Highlands Conference on the line. Avery hopes to rinse out the taste of its last trip to Hendersonville, a 56-6 defeat in the opening round of last season’s playoffs.

“I think we’re confident going down there. These kids play hard and I can’t imagine going to Hendersonville and them not playing hard,” Coach Brewer said. “Much like preparing for the game against Owen, we’ve got to do the job controlling the clock and be very good tacklers on defense. I hope we have a little chip on our shoulder after what happened down there last year. The kids may not think much about it, but I’m sure the coaches might mention it this week in practice.”

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Dietz Field in Hendersonville. Avery will return to MacDonald Stadium the following week to tangle with the Polk County Wolverines.