West Point running back Hunter Persall speeds past a Jasper defender during the Warriors’ 54-20 loss to the Vikings. (Bill Piper for The Cullman Tribune)
JASPER – The Jasper Vikings Improved to 5-1 on the season and remained unbeaten in Class 5A, Region 7 at 4-0 with a dominate 54-20 win on homecoming Friday night over region foe West Point.
The Vikings racked up 592 total yards in the game, 350 through the air and 242 on the ground.
“It is a region win, and it was a win on homecoming with a lot of other stuff going on,” Jasper Coach Bryan Moore said. “We did some things early that we can’t do as we move forward. We turned the ball over again in the first half. That is something that we have to correct. We had some bad penalties and made some bad decisions at times.
“We also did some good things,” he added. “We moved the ball well, and we put points on the board, but we left some that we should have had. I’m proud of our guys. We are 5-1, and we are undefeated in the region. That is something to be happy about.”
Quarterback Michael Crear continued to pace the Jasper with 306 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-28 passing. The senior quarterback spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Xavier Waldrop led the Vikings with nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Cole Bonner returned after a two-game absence due to injury to catch three passes for 82 yards and a score. Running back Kaden Shelton had a dynamic performance against West Point, running for 82 yards and two touchdowns on eight carriers, while also completing his only pass of the game for 44 yards and a score. Cam Lambert also scored two touchdowns in the game while carrying the ball 13 times for 72 yards.
The Jasper defense held West Point to only 74 yards on the ground but gave up 201 through the air. The Warriors finished with 275 total yards.
The Vikings opened the scoring on the night when Crear hit Waldrop on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 9:14 left in the first quarter. Both offenses stalled through the remainder of the first quarter with Jasper leading 7-0.
Shelton scored his first touchdown on the night after only 46 seconds had passed in the second quarter to give Jasper a 13-0 lead. The Warriors answered with their best executed drive of the night when Hunter Persall scored on a 1-yard run to cut the lead to 13-7 with 6:56 left in the first half. A few plays later, Jasper answered that score with a halfback pass from Shelton to Waldrop. Both teams added scores before halftime with Lambert and Shelton scoring for Jasper and Rylan Jones scoring for West Point. The Vikings led at halftime 34-13.
Jasper scored on the opening play of the second half when Crear hit Bonner on a 66-yard pass. Jasper led 41-13. Lambert scored on a 3-yard run later in the third quarter to give the Vikings a 48-13 advantage.
Jasper’s final score of the night came at the 8:45 mark of the fourth quarter when freshman tailback Trayvon Stewart scored on a 3-yard run. With Jasper’s junior varsity defense playing late in the fourth quarter, West Point scored on another Jones run to cut the final deficit to 54-20.
West Point drops to 1-5 on the year and is winless in the region. The Warriors will play Dora at home next week.
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