Vandals top Staunton for first win

Quarterback Andrew Kelly scored on the first play from scrimmage and the Vandals were never headed in their win over Staunton on Friday.

The 21-7 win at home over the Bulldogs evened the Vandals’ record at 1-1, with Carlinville coming to town on Friday for their next contest.

Kelly’s 30-yard run 90 seconds after kickoff and Kanon Wollerman’s extra point gave the Vandals a 7-0 lead after one quarter, and they went up 13-0 when Kelly connected with Kohnor Depew on a 19-yard pass play in the third quarter.

After Staunton got on the scoreboard in the third quarter, the Vandals clinched the win on a 3-yard run by Landon Christian and a two-point conversion on Kelly’s pass to Christian.

Kelly again led the Vandals in rushing with 137 yards on 17 carries, and Christian contributed 78 yards on nine carries.

Kelly also led on defense for the second time in a row with three solo tackles, six assists and 1 1/5 tackles for loss.

“We made a lot of mistakes, but we made a lot of plays, too,” Vandalia coach Jason Clay said.

“We worked on some different things, and got some good looks at things,” he said.
The Vandals made adjustments when seeing that Staunton “tried to copy a little bit of the game plan from Pana and do some of the same things they did.

“We didn’t play perfect. We had a couple of turnovers that were big, and with penalties, you get behind the chains and start to push, and that’s when turnovers happen,” Clay said.

“But it’s a good opportunity to coach them up.
“Our defense did a great job,” he said. “They gave up some yards other than the one touchdown where a guy got away from us, but they did a great job.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge, and the first half, we’re only up seven.

“We should have been up maybe a couple of scores, and that would have been a little different ballgame.”

On the Vandals’ lineup featuring a lot of new faces, Clay said the newcomers are learning.

“You’ve got to learn how to win at the varsity level,” he said. “A lot of these guys have had success in freshmen football or JFL or JV, but on Friday night, it’s a little different.

“We were able to get a victory, so it’s a lot more fun to go back and work on things after winning than it is after a loss.

“I think we’ll see a lot of good things and I think we’ll see a lot of things to work on,” Clay said.

JV – Staunton 34, Vandalia 0
Frosh – Vandalia 22, Staunton 14