Lancers slip away from Cavaliers in second half

AMHERST — Jefferson Forest’s football team gave Amherst its toughest test of the season, Friday night at Lancer Stadium, before allowing the Lancers to capitalize on a couple of big plays and come away with a 30-0 victory, their second shutout of the season.

The Cavaliers held Amherst to three first downs and 100 yards of total offense in the first half. For the game, they picked up 13 first downs to the Lancers’ eight and totaled nearly as much yardage as Amherst (226-214).

“They were stacking up the (box) to take away our inside run and forcing us to go outside,” Lancers coach Cecil Phillips said. “We really weren’t getting into any rhythm.”

But Forest (5-4, 3-2 Seminole) gave up a safety on its first possession of the second half and allowed two 51-yard touchdowns — one on offense and one on defense — to turn a 7-0 halftime lead into a 23-0 advantage just four minutes into the third quarter.

Mario Vaughan scored his second touchdown on Amherst’s first play of the second half, sweeping outside and cutting up the right sideline behind a few big blocks.

“It was a great block by the offensive line,” Vaughan said. “Jamal (Glover), Anthony (Rose), Chris (McDaniel) and all the offensive line blocked well.”

“We made some adjustments to our blocking schemes in the second half,” Phillips added. “(Vaughan) has great vision and deceptive speed.”

A minute and a half later, McDaniel scooped up a fumble in Forest’s backfield and returned it for another quick score before the Lancers’ third offensive snap after halftime.

“The thing you can’t do against Amherst is you can’t give them anything, any unearned points,” JF coach Don Rice said. “You have to make them work for everything they get.”

In the first half, the Cavaliers definitely did, shutting down the middle and keeping pressure on Lancers’ quarterback Kirby Anderson.

“Coach (Phillips) told us they weren’t going to let up on us — they were going to battle hard — and I guess we just weren’t used to it,” Vaughan said.

Amherst held JF running back Rashad Hall to 75 yards on 28 carries.

“We played great defense,” Vaughan said. “(The Cavaliers) were testing the linebackers and defensive line with their power game and they did what they had to do.”

They preserved the shutout with a goal-line stand in the closing seconds with close coverage on Hunter Hannell’s 3-yard fourth-down pass attempt in the right side of the end zone.

The Cavaliers entered the game ranked sixth in the Region III, Division 4, power ratings and can clinch their second straight playoff berth with a win over Brookville next week.

“Our goal is to be right back here for the regional championship game like we were last year,” Rice said, referring to a 40-10 loss at Lancer Stadium. “We’ve just got to carry the positive energy from this game into Brookville.”