Cardinals Dominate Eagles

FARMINGTON -- Owning a 16-7 halftime lead, Farmington's defense presented the offense with a golden opportunity by stopping a Vilonia fourth down run midway through the second quarter.

The Cardinals cashed in with junior Trey Waggle scoring on a quarterback sneak to build a 22-7 lead en route to securing a much-needed, 22-13, conference win on the road at Vilonia Oct. 14. The win lifted the spirits of the football team, which had suffered home losses to Alma (35-14) and Greenbrier (41-14) in consecutive weeks. Farmington played without senior linebacker/quarterback Jake Oskey, and offensive linemen Sam Stevens and Kennan Evans.

The defense set the tone on the first play from scrimmage with Justin Clark fighting off a block and tackling Eagle runningback Ben Duff. On second down, sophomore linebacker Jacob Freeman stuffed All-State Vilonia quarterback Luke Gordon (17 rushes, 47 yards) on a keeper. Farmington would make running the football tough all night. After the Eagles drove to the Cardinal 35, Farmington shut down their drive. Freeman came up to force a pitch on an option play and senior cornerback Josh Ball nailed the runningback for a 5-yard loss, bringing up fourth-and-13. Gordon's favorite target, Hayden Patterson (10 catches, 92 yards), made a catch but was stopped short of the first down by Javan Jowers. Vilonia turned the ball over on downs at the Cardinal 29.

Farmington's offense made a statement on their opening drive, marching 71 yards in 10 plays to take an early lead. Sophomore Reid Turner started at tailback and broke tackles on fourth down to keep the drive alive at Farmington's 42. Vilonia was flagged for pass interference moving the ball to the Eagle 43. Farmington quarterback Trey Waggle hit Xavier Staten for 13 yards. Two runs by fullback Blake Putnam picked up a first down at the 20. Turner ran for 5 yards, then broke a 15-yard touchdown run off right tackle. Sophomore quarterback Seth Swain took a direct snap in the swinging-gate formation and ran in the 2-point conversion. Farmington celebrated an 8-0 lead with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

The Cardinals took full advantage of a short field in the second quarter, traversing 53 yards in 7 plays after a Vilonia punt. Big plays on the drive were a pair of Waggle to Staten connections, the first one for 16 yards and a first down, and the second for a 32-yard touchdown on fourth-and-9. Again, the Cardinals went to the swinging gate with Swain once more running for a 2-point conversion. Farmington owned a 16-0 lead with 8:44 to go in the half. On the ensuing drive, Gordon got loose up the middle, running for 48 yards to the Cardinal 5. Two plays later, he scored on a quarterback sneak from the one. Bryce Garrison kicked an extra-point for Vilonia, trimming Farmington's lead to 16-7, which was the halftime score.

A promising Farmington drive came up empty when a touchdown pass was dropped in the end zone, turning the ball over on downs at the Vilonia 16. The Eagles took possession and promptly got stuffed. Safety Kelton Price made back to back tackles, stopping a quarterback keeper and a sweep to get the ball back for the offense at Vilonia's 25. Staten picked up a first down at the Eagle 12 with a reception, then Putnam ran for six yards on a fullback dive. Turner bulled his way down to the one and Waggle finished off the drive by sneaking over from the one. The conversion failed, but Farmington had a two touchdown lead, of 22-7, at the 4:43 mark of the third quarter.

Dylan Gustin had an interception to stop an Eagle drive. The Cardinal defense came through again after a fumble was lost with Vilonia's Jacob Otto recovering at Farmington's 34 late in the third quarter. Vilonia drove to Farmington's 21 before Freeman sacked Gordon on a blitz. The 35-yard loss loomed huge forcing Vilonia to punt. The Eagles got the ball back on Cody Mitchell's interception, but were flagged for a dead-ball personal foul when they got caught spearing Farmington tight end Jacob Grey in the back as he returned to the field of play from the Vilonia sideline. The penalty moved the ball back into Eagle territory at the 48.

Vilonia mounted a threat, driving inside the Farmington five, but fumbled and lost a yard on third down. The Eagles lined up in a field goal formation from the five, but the Cardinals were not fooled and thwarted a fake to get the ball back on downs with 3:28 remaining. Farmington couldn't run the clock out and Vilonia scored on a 5-play, 39-yard drive on a Gordon throw to Patterson. The Eagles went for two, but a running play on the conversion was stopped - leaving Farmington with a 22-13 lead with 38 seconds showing. Caleb Williams recovered an onside kick and Farmington lined up in the victory formation to close out the game. Gordon was limited to 118 passing yards and the Cardinal defense yielded only 231 yards of total offense against Vilonia.