September 25--Trailing 12-0 at Halftime, the Vidalia Indians mounted a second-half comeback only to fall short, falling to 5A Stockbridge 20-15. With the loss, the Indians drop to 1-3 on the year and close out the non-region part of their schedule on Friday night against Tattnall County at Buck Cravey Field.
The game got off to a bad start for the Indians as they fumbled the opening kickoff giving the Tigers the ball at the Indian 37-yard line. But the scrappy Indian defense dug in and held Stockbridge to a four and out, which included holding the Tigers on a 4th down play.
The Indians took over at their 38-yard line and mounted an 11-play drive on the ground and, through the air that bogged down at the Tiger 19. Senior kicker Tate McDaniel was called upon to try a 38-yard field goal which sailed just left, and the Tigers would take over at their 20-yard line with 6:40 to go in the opening quarter.
Neither team could move the ball on their next possessions, but with 1:57 to go in the first quarter, Stockbridge would begin a six-play 51-yard drive that resulted in a Coby Thompkins 17-yard pass to Diontre Stone with 11:55 to go in the first quarter. The PAT was no good, and Stockbridge led 6-0.
The Indians would again drive the ball from their 30 to midfield before again bogging down, coming up short on a 4th down, and turning the ball over on downs. From there, it took the Tigers just five plays to get into the endzone; this time, it was a Tugari Meggett 7-yard run to put the Tigers up 12-0 after the 2-point conversion try failed. The Indians had two more possessions before the end of the half but could not muster any points, despite a potential touchdown pass from Bryce Davis that fell out of the hands of Jordan Powell with time running out in the half.
The Indian’s defense would pick up where it left off in the first half holding the Tigers to a three and out and forcing a punt on their first possession of the half. Following a 22-yard punt, the Indians would take over at the Stockbridge 42-yard line and wasted no time getting into the end zone on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Kaleb Bennett on their second play of the half. The PAT by McDaniel was true and with 10:11 to go in the 3rd quarter, Vidalia trailed by a score of 12-7
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The Indians would get two Tiger turnovers on their next two possessions but could not get any points on the board with Stockbridge playing tough defense.
The next score would come with 9:23 to go in the game when the Tigers would take advantage of a Bryce Davis interception and drive the ball 20 yards in 2:12, with Meggett taking the ball in for his second TD of the night from 3 yards out to make the score 20-7 following a successful PAT.
Both teams would exchange punts on their next possessions, but Vidalia would flip the field following a Tiger 7-yard punt giving the ball to the Indians at the Tiger 28-yard line with 5:58 to go in the game.
From there, it only took the Indians 4 plays to get back into the endzone. This time it was a Davis to Antonio Barron TD pass to pull the Indians to within 7 points 20-13, following a missed PAT.
Once again, the Indian defense would rise to the occasion and force the Tigers to punt in their next possession. The Indians would then drive the ball to the 43-yard line of Stockbridge, but on a 3rd and long, Davis would throw his second interception of the night with 2:55 to go in the game.
That’s when things got interesting, following a sack by Trace Thompson putting Stockbridge at their 23-yard line. It was then on 3rd down and seven with no timeouts that the Tiger center snapped the ball to the side of Thompkins, who couldn’t handle the snap. The ball rolled into the end zone, where a Stockbridge player recovered it, and Vidalia was awarded a safety making the score Stockbridge 20 and Vidalia 15.
On the ensuing free kick, Antonio Barron would take the ball and get a full head of steam, taking the ball at his 40-yard line and scampering down the sideline to the Tiger 20 yard line with 1:44 to go and no timeouts for the Indians.
From there, Stockbridge brought the house and sacked Davis three straight downs, bringing up a 4th and 23. On the play, Davis, who was under pressure, stepped up and threw one in the endzone, which was intercepted by a Stockbridge defender who ran out the clock on their next play and taking the win 20-15.
(Courtesy of Vidalia High School) (Pictures by Carroll Williams)
