Vandals top Pana to stay unbeaten

By Editor | October 23, 2019 |

In the battle between two state-ranked teams that were unbeaten in conference play, Vandalia built a 21-18 lead at halftime, then held Pana scoreless in the second half to come away with a 28-18 win on Friday.

The win improved the No. 5 Vandals to 8-0 heading into the season finale at Greenville against the 7-1 Comets on Friday.
Vandals quarterback Matthew Wells rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more as the Vandals jumped out to an early lead and were never headed.
With a win on Friday, this year’s squad would join three other unbeaten VCHS teams – 1963 (9-0), 1976 (10-1) and 1996 (10-1). All three of those teams won the Mid-State Conference title, with the 1976 and 1996 teams suffering their first loss in the postseason.
Among the members of the 1996 team was Jason Clay, the current Vandals head coach.
“The kids were into it from the get-go,” Clay said after Friday’s win. “We met at 5:30 and they were super-excited and focused.
“We’re ready to people to talk about us – that’s what we talked about … and we made plays,” he said.
The Vandals got on the scoreboard on a 5-yard run by Wells with 7:53 in the first quarter. Cameron Withers added the extra point.
Pana countered on the first play of the second quarter with a 34-yard pass play to Jonah Lauff to speedster Bryce Edmiston, but missed the extra-point kick.
Vandalia added to its lead with 7:44 left in the half when Wells and Austin hooked up on a 45-yard pass play. The Withers kick made it 14-6.
Pana scored its second touchdown just 21 seconds later on a 65-yard run by Edmiston. The Panthers attempted a two-point conversion, but Lane Perry was stuffed short of the goal line by a host of Vandals.
Wells scored from 9 yards out with 5:28 left in the second quarter, and the Withers kick made it 21-12.
Again, Pana countered quickly with another score, with Edmiston catching a pass from Lauff and completing the 49-yard scoring play.
The final score came with 3:27 left in the third quarter, on a 10-yard pass from Wells to a diving Gaven Davis.
A late scoring drive by the Panthers was killed when sophomore Carson Ruot picked off a Lauff pass to help seal the win.
“We got the ball rolling a little bit, got a couple of nice plays out of our offense, and the defensive was super-strong the whole game,” Clay said.
“That Edmiston is a heck of a ballplayer and he hurt us a couple of times, but there wasn’t much else (from Pana),” he said. “We did a great job of shutting down Perry.
“We were tough in the middle all night. We tackled well. I can’t say enough about the defense.
“Tiler (Worker) and Robby (Durbin) were all over the place, chasing people,” he said. “Plunkett made several good plays and Tone (Anthony) Enlow was playing up and down the line.
“And Kyle (Phillips) and Zane (Ulmer), and whoever’s in there, they were plugging it up,” Clay said.
“They got on the edge a couple of times, but they’ve got some good players and they’re going to be tough against anybody.
“We’re so proud of our kids,” he said.
“We’re going to enjoy this now and on Monday, we’ll go to work on going 9-0.”
Clay’s excitement about the win showed as the team gathered after shaking hands with Pana players. That excitement is about what his players have accomplished.
“It’s a good thing for the kids – they put so much work in, so much time and effort, and the thing is, they get paid off for that.
“And, I think that teaches them about life, that if you’re willing to work hard for what you want and you’re willing to put the work in, you can turn out wins and be successful,” Clay said.
After adding to his career rushing, passing and total yards figures, Wells was quick to point out the team effort.
The win is great, “especially on senior night. You never thought you’d make it on that line (of seniors) and them announcing your name.
“It brings a tear to your eye,” Wells said.
“With that, it wasn’t about that tonight, it was about the game.
“A big game, 7-0 (versus) 7-0, and we came out here and got it done. That was big,” he said.
Facing a team with a lot of speed and talent, “Everybody stepped up, even our sophomore, Carson (Ruot).
“The defense stepped up big – they contained the outside, contained the inside.
"The big plays (by Pana), sure, but that’s going to happen, because Edmiston is one of the fastest guys in the league – you can’t fault anyone for that.
“But, yeah, the defense stepped up big today,” Wells said.
Total Offense – 319 yards
Rushing – 49 carries, 169 yards, 2 TD’s. Ritchey 23 carries, 91 yards; Well 19 carries, 43 yards; Austin 2 carries, 17 yards; McKinney 2 carries, 8 yards; Fickes 2 carries, 6 yards; Davis 1 carry, 4 yards.
Passing – 10 for 17, 150 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 interceptions. Wells 9 for 15, 149 yards, 2 TD’s, interception; Austin 0 for 1; Durbin 1 for 1, 1 yard.
Receiving – Austin 4 catches, 76 yards, TD; Davis 3 catches, 60 yards, TD; Fickes 1 catches, 13 yards; Ritchey 1 catch, 1 yard.
DEFENSE
Interceptions – Ruot, Ulmer.
Pana – 26 carries, 84 yards, touchdown; and 8 of 17 in passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Tackles – Durbin 8 solo, 3 assisted, tackle for los, 3 sacks; Ulmer 4 solo, 4 assisted, tackle for loss, interception; Worker 4 solo, 4 assisted, tackle for loss, sack; Enlow 3 solo, 5 assisted, tackle for loss; Plunkett 3 solo, 4 assisted, sack; Phillips 3 solo, 3 assisted; Austin 2 solo, 1 assisted; Ritchey 2 solo; Kaiser 2 assisted; Beall 2 solo; Ruot 2 assisted, interception; Davis 1 solo.

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
• 7:53 – Vandalia-Wells, 5-yard run; Withers kick. Vandalia 7, Pana 0
Second Quarter
• 11:53 – Pana-Lauff to Edmiston, 34-yard pass play; kick failed. Vandalia 7, Pana 6
• 7:44 – Vandalia-Wells to Austin, 45-yard pass play; Withers kick. Vandalia 14, Pana 6
• 7:23 – Pana-Edmiston, 65-yard run; two-point conversion failed. Vandalia 14, Pana 12
• 5:28 – Vandalia-Wells, 9-yard run; Withers kick. Vandalia Vandalia 21, Pana 12
• 4:41 – Pana-Lauff to Edmiston, 49-yard pass play; kick failed. Vandalia 21, Pana 18
Third Quarter
• 3:27 – Wells to Davis, 10-yard pass play; Withers kick. Vandalia 28, Pana 18
Statistics provided by Hannah Edgar, VCHS coaching staff