So Close

The Spartanburg Vikings came up just short Friday Night in the 35-31 loss to Northwestern Friday Night. The Vikings fall to 3-2 on the season. Below are my thoughts on the game:

• William Yex had a monster night and has become a QB this team believes in. When the Vikings took over for the final time, there was a belief amongst the fans in attendance that Yex would make the plays to win. He made some beautiful throws on that drive including a perfect strike over the middle in Northwestern territory. Yex threw for 426 yards and it could have been a lot more. He’s making throws he wasn’t hitting just 3 weeks ago, especially ones to the sidelines.
• Ladarius Jones had the best game of his career. Running, receiving, catching a fake punt, Jones did everything and did it well. Jones reminds me a lot of Tavien Feaster in this way – you know that the first guy won’t touch him and the 2nd guy will need help to bring him down.
• The skill position guys were outstanding. All made who plays and different points in the game. You can’t double team any of them because the other guys will make you pay. Eric Rice continues to get better every single game and Romain Kelly is open pretty much every play. Career night for Josh Johnson as well. Tommy Washington and Damyjai Foster are so much fun to watch and this deep group is incredibly good.
• The OL had their best game of the year. They gave Yex a lot of time tonight and created good holes to run through. They seem to all be on the same page pretty much most of the night.
• Trent Byrd had another big night. He and Ayele Jeter are pretty much guaranteed to have 5 tackles for a loss each game between the 2 of them. Byrd is very strong and can drive the OTs back and Jeter gives OTs all sorts of problems with his speed.
• Not having Connor Shugart in the game really hurt the Vikings in my opinion in the 1st half. Coach Miller and his staff once again did an amazing job making adjustments and the defense dominated Northwestern’s high powered offense.
• Jalen Girdner is gonna be a tremendous player. That strip of the ball to end the 1st half was a crucial play. NW could have scored quickly afterwards.
• The Vikings were outstanding Friday Night. They are playing very good football and went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the state and easily could’ve left Rock Hill with that win. Viking fans should feel very proud of this group. They fought their tails off Friday Night and we’ll learn how to finish that one off and pull out that win in no time. This is a very good 3-2 football team.