Vance avenges loss to Hough, advances to state semifinals at Myers Park
Vance High School is one game away from a third straight trip to the N.C. 4AA state finals.
The Cougars avenged their only regular-season loss Friday in Cornelius, beating previously unbeaten Hough 24-10 in the N.C. 4AA state quarterfinals.
Vance will advance to next week’s state semifinal at Myers Park, which rallied to beat Panther Creek, 27-21.
Vance beat Myers Park in the 2018 state semifinals. The Cougars lost to Wake Forest in the 2018 state final and then beat Leesville Road in the 2019 final. No state championship was played in 2020 due to COVID-19.
On Friday, Vance’s defense came up with big play after big play, including a safety and two interceptions — and sophomore Daylan Smothers had two brilliant scoring runs, including a 38-yarder late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Vance set the defensive tone early.
The Cougars knocked the Hough offense back from its 18 to the 2 on three straight plays. Then, the Cougars blocked the fourth-down punt for a safety and a 2-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
After that, the teams traded touchdowns, before Smothers scored the first of his two -- on a 56-yard run where he ran away from the defense. Vance led 17-7.
Hough had a chance to cut into the lead, later getting a first down at the Vance 4, but the Cougars forced a field goal after Jalen Swindle made a terrific third-down tackle on a Hough running back.
Later, TJ McGill got an interception to stop a Hough drive before Smothers second scoring run, a bullet of a 38-yarder that put the game away with less than five minutes to play.
Vance 0 10 7 7 — 24
Hough 0 7 3 0 — 10
V: Safety (punt blocked)
H: Jacquon Gibson 30 pass from Tad Hudson (Nolan Hauser kick)
V: Asauni Allen 1 run (Kevin Concepcion run)
V: Daylan Smothers 56 run (Melvin Benitez kick)
H: FG Hauser 20
V: Smothers 38 run (Benitez kick)
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Vance avenges loss to Hough, advances to state semifinals at Myers Park."
