REDDING, Calif. - The Simpson Football team took down Valley City State today in a high-scoring game that saw the Red Hawks edge the Vikings 50-45.
The Red Hawks drew first blood in the first quarter as
Ya'j Vance hit wideout
Ivan Huerta for a 55-yard pitch and catch. The Vikings responded on the ensuing drive as they marched 75 yards in seven plays that ended in a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Laggarius Marshell.
The second quarter continued the trend of back-and-forth blows by the Red Hawks and Vikings offenses as they combined for 38 points.
D'Ante Benjamin scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to cap off a six-play 70-yard drive before the Vikings answered with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Medieros to Exavian Westbrook.
Benjamin continued his big first half on the ground as he found the endzone for the second time on a 26-yard touchdown run on a third-and-short.
The Red Hawks' defense made a huge stop as defensive lineman
Emre Norcross posted a huge third-down sack to hold the Vikings to a field goal in the red zone to preserve the 21-17 lead.
The Vikings forced the first punt of the game late in the second quarter as they capitalized to go 49 yards in 42 seconds to take the 24-21 lead on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Medieros to Jake Deutsch.
With less than a minute before the half, the Red Hawks struck lightning on two huge chunk plays of 36 and 37 yard pass plays
Jahkylle Smith and
Jakari Williams help set up a one-yard touchdown pass from Vance to
King Wade to give Simpson the 28-24 lead headed into halftime.
The Vikings came out of the half with a touchdown scoring drive to retake the three-point lead before the Red Hawks tied the game at 31 on the ensuing drive with a 21-yard field goal by
Tyler Hinrichs.
Benjamin found the endzone for the fourth time on an 8-yard touchdown scamper before the Vikings re-tied the game at 38.
The Red Hawks grabbed the late lead on a 23-yard strike to Smith before a missed extra point held the Simpson lead to six.
The Vikings put together a late, methodical drive to take the one-point lead as they went 75 yards on 10 plays to eat away five and a half minutes on the clock.
But the Red Hawks offense proved unstoppable as they marched deep into Vikings territory before Vance scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run on a third and long play to give Simpson the five-point lead with 33 seconds left in the game.
The Simpson defense came up huge as
William Weathington picked up the game-sealing interception to close out the 50-45 victory.
With the win, Simpson notched their first home victory in program history as they pulled to .500 on the season.
Ya'j Vance finished the day going 19-28 for 374 yards as he accounted for four total touchdowns, three through the air and one rushing.
D'Ante Benjamin proved to be unstoppable as he posted 198 yards on the ground and found the endzone three times.
Jakari Williams led the Simpson receivers with 113 yards through the air, while
Ivan Huerta followed close behind with 92 yards and a touchdown.
On defense,
James Webster,
Charlie Walden, and
Dominique Ruff each posted seven total tackles while
William Weathington notched the lone takeaway of the game with a game-sealing interception.
Emre Norcross and
Dominic Conant each posted a sack as they combined for six total tackles.
Simpson looks to head into conference play next week as they take on the College of Idaho at 1 pm (MST) on Saturday.
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