Vail Christian running game overwhelms Rangely in 52-30 victory
Hunter Gilbert ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints improved to 3-1 on the season
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
The Vail Christian football team used a strong running game to roll over Rangely 52-30 on Saturday and improve to 3-1 on the season.
Asher Morris had 19 carries for 135 yards and Hunter Gilbert carried the ball 21 times for 171 yards and two scores as the Saints improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in league play. All told, Vail Christian had 334 yards on the ground.
“Pretty big shout out there to the offensive line,” head coach Tim Pierson said. “But then, on the flip side of that, we had four offensive turnovers, so got to get that figured out.”
The Saints got off to a fast start, with Morris scoring the first of his two rushing touchdowns at the end of an 18-play opening drive. They pinned the Panthers on their own two-yard line on the ensuing kick-off.
“Knowing how often we onside kick, they put everybody up and we kicked it deep,” Pierson said.
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The Saints would score on a safety after the Panther’s punt snap went awry. Morris found the endzone again before the end of the second quarter and Gilbert extended the lead to 24-0 on a 42-yard touchdown scamper. Finally, Caden McCommons hauled in a 22-yard score from Morris to make it 32-0 at halftime.
The Saints sputtered a bit early in the second half, though. Rangely quarterback Bradley Lambros connected with Tristan Scott for a 64-yard touchdown pass coming out of the break. The Panthers got on the board immediately after on a 62-yard scoop-and-score. Vail Christian turned it over again on an interception on its next drive, and Lambros and Scott hooked up a second time to make it 38-22. Scott finished with five catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns. The senior also picked up 11 total tackles on defense.
In the fourth, Gilbert stabilized the ship with a 4-yard touchdown run before Ian Salyer sealed the deal with an 8-yard score of his own.
The Saints finished the game with 472 yards of offense; Pierson said Morris had his best passing game of the season as well, going 8-for-15 for 138 yards and two scores through the air. On Thursday, Vail Christian travels to Soroco, which lost 48-6 to Rangely on Sept. 22.
Other football notes:
- Conifer scored 14 points in the fourth-quarter to squeeze past Eagle Valley 28-23 last Friday. The Devils (2-3) will try to get back in the win column this Friday against Steamboat Springs in their first home game since Aug. 30. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.
