Vance rebounds from first loss with rout of West Charlotte

The Vance Cougars’ record is a more-than-respectable 6-1 after a 53-7 rout of West Charlotte on Thursday night at Vance, as they bounced back from their first loss of the season last week.

Coach Aaron Brand said his Cougars, who fell from No. 1 to No. 6 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 after that setback at Kannapolis A.L Brown, “aren’t any good yet.”

“We’re still a work in progress, and we’re still trying to put together a complete game,” he said after an at times dominating and at times ragged performance against the overmatched Lions.

Quarterback Kingsley Ifedi threw five touchdown passes, including three to tight end Jeremiah Hall, completing 15-of-20 passes for 205 yards. He also rushed for one touchdown. The Vance defense recovered three fumbles and recorded a safety as the Cougars picked up their first MECKA 4A Conference win.

“We want a repeat of two years ago when we were able to turn it on at the end and get a couple of seconds away from playing for a state championship,” Brand said. “Tonight we were sloppy and squandered some opportunities.”

The Cougars scored on their first two possessions and weren’t seriously threatened after that. Hall, who caught seven passes for 103 yards, caught the first of his three touchdown passes from Ifedi on a 3-harder after West Charlotte fumbled the ball away on a kickoff return late in the second quarter. He caught touchdown passes of 23 and 32 yards in the second half.

Running back Jerkoya Patton carried 28 times for 139 yards for the Lions, scoring West Charlotte’s only touchdown on a 12-yard run with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter.

Quote: “Any time we can get the ball in Jeremiah Hall’s hands we’re a better football team. He’s a terror when he gets the ball. He touched the ball four times last week and that’s just bad coaching on our part.” – Brand

Records: West Charlotte 1-7, 1-2 MECKA 4A: Vance 6-1, 1-1.

Worth mentioning: It didn’t earn the Lions a trip to the end zone, but West Charlotte came up with a highlight film-worthy play to close the first half, putting together a scramble that featured a half-dozen laterals before ending in an incomplete pass.

What’s Next: Vance will play at Mallard Creek next Friday in a big MECKA 4A game. West Charlotte will play at Hopewell.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Vance rebounds from first loss with rout of West Charlotte."