After failing to connect with quarterback Jake Josephs for the majority of the first quarter, Ronnie Vandyke found better success with Washington-Lee signal-caller Rigo Salguerro, returning an interception 20 yards for a touchdown. That set the pace for the night, as the South County Stallions (1-1) raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead and didn't look back en route to a 42-7 victory.
On the first play of the second quarter, the Stallions' duo turned their luck around. Josephs' 41-yard rush at the end of the first quarter set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to Vandyke, and the rout was on.
Vandyke made his presence felt on defense as well, the side of the ball he's expected to play on at Virginia Tech next year. Two plays after taking down Salguerro in the backfield for a 3-yard loss, Vandyke blocked a punt that was picked up at the 3-yard line and taken into the end zone by his younger brother Devin to make the score 28-0.
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South County head coach Pete Bendorf couldn't emphasize enough how crucial Vandyke is to the success of the Stallions, especially after missing last season due to an injury.
"He's an all around player but on defense, he's so important to us. It was unfortunate for the fans in Northern Virginia last year that they weren't able to see him play," said Bendorf.
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The scary part about Vandyke is that, according to Bendorf, "he's just starting to show his skills."
Because of the injury, Josephs and Vandyke had to quickly develop chemistry this season.
"It was shaky last week, but we turned things around. [Ronnie] is a big target," said Josephs.
The turnaround was certainly apparent versus the Generals, as Vandyke had an impressive over the shoulder reception in the second quarter that went for 38 yards.
A sequence at the end of the first half typified the type of night it was for both teams. After a Hail Mary pass slipped through the hands of Oyinemi Iyebote in the endzone, W-L was whistled for pass interference on what would have been the final play of the half. On the ensuing play, Josephs was flushed out of the pocket and was able to follow his blocking for a 29-yard touchdown with zero seconds on the clock.
"I feel very comfortable behind my offensive line," said Josephs.
Josephs also added rushes of 20 and 19 yards in the first half to finish with 110 yards on eight attempts in the first half.
Josephs started the second half with a 5-yard touchdown run after an efficient drive that was aided by running back Joe Winbush. After the score, Josephs gave way to backup Shane Foley.
South County's defense, anchored up the middle by Josh Butler and Tim Hunt, prevented the Generals from crossing midfield until early in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Taylor put W-L (0-2) on the board with a 2-yard touchdown rush with 3:51 remaining in the game.
Drew Rector added eight rushes for 29 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown for the Stallions.
After falling to Chantilly last week, the Stallions were looking to get back on track, and to send a message to the rest of the teams in the Patriot District and Northern Region before kicking off the district schedule next week at Annandale.
"We wanted to redeem ourselves. We wanted to tell the district and the region that we're not playing," said Vandyke.
"[We played] much better, in all three phases of the game," said Bendorf.
