Vikings overpower Minutemen in Division 3, Region III final

BEDFORD — Momentum is fickle — just ask the Liberty Minutemen.

Playing the Northside Vikings for the Division 3, Region III, crown, the Minutemen had momentum on their side early after Mike Bowyer blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt by Sean Joyner.

The ball caromed right into the hands of Tyler Bowyer, who ran untouched 77 yards for a touchdown. However, it was the Vikings who would firmly seize the momentum for the rest of the game, scoring the next 26 points en route to a 26-14 win.

Liberty’s usually solid running game was mostly absent throughout because of a swarming Vikings linebacker corps, led by 6-foot-2, 236-pound Nick Sigmon, who has committed to play next year at Liberty University.

The Vikings had a decided size advantage on offense as well. Dustin Phelps and Philip Scott handled the bulk of Northside’s carries and had the luxury of running behind A.J. Johnson and Marque Johnson, who weigh in at a combined 638 pounds. The constant pounding on both sides of the ball took its toll on the Minutemen.

“It’s a big football team … it kind of wore us as the game went on,” Liberty coach Chris Watts said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively and it’s a tribute to them playing good defense. We never got any consistency and I didn’t do a good job getting us in the right things offensively and I put our defense in too much of a bind.”

The Vikings’ running attack also loosened up the Liberty secondary, forcing the defensive backs to cheat towards the line of scrimmage and making them susceptible to the pass. The Vikings would use it to their advantage when Ryan Keith hit Donovohn Brown in the back of the end zone from 19 yards out one play after Scott ran for 15 yards. The score remained 7-7 at halftime but Keith would strike again in the third quarter.

After Liberty picked up a quick first down on its opening possession, Tyler Bowyer was intercepted by Keith, who returned the ball to the Liberty 38.

“That pick … was a huge momentum swing for us,” Vikings coach Burt Torrence said.

After picking up a pair of first downs, the Vikings faced first-and-goal from the 8. On third down, Keith pitched to Phelps, who immediately threw back to Keith. The senior quarterback found a wide-open Scott for the go-ahead touchdown.

Scott, who would run for another score on the Vikings’ next possession, said the early Liberty touchdown did little to faze the resilient Vikings.

“We always keep a positive attitude … and we came out and we responded like we always do,” Scott said.

Already worn down by the physical Vikings, the Minutemen defense took another big hit when safety Brett Dietrich went down in the third quarter. Dietrich was motionless for several minutes on the ground but was able to talk. Eventually, he was taken off the field on a stretcher.

“I think offensive line-wise we wore their defense down in the second half,” Torrence said. “I think the Dietrich kid getting hurt was a big blow to them because he is so good at being physical and sticking his nose up in there and you can’t account for him in your blocking schemes.”

Liberty would score in the fourth on a 47-yard Tyler Bowyer run, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Said Watts: “Nobody gave us an opportunity to be here at the beginning of the season, and it makes for a nice story and all, but when you get here you have to take advantage of the situation. And we didn’t do it.”