NORTH ADAMS — The visiting Smith Vocational Vikings football team overcame an early fumble and scored on each of its next four possessions against Drury on Saturday in a Tri-County League clash. Smith Voc gashed the Blue Devils defense on the ground, rushing for 252 yards led by senior Jared Baer (game-high 107 yards). The Vikings built a big lead in the first half, cruising to a 30-0 road victory to snap a five-game skid in the series. 

“Yeah, we’re just… Football ignorant,” Drury head coach Al Marceau said. “I don’t mean that as a negative to my kids, we just don’t have a lot of experience … Where it’s showing is, we get something going and as soon as something changes in front of us, we struggle with it. We don’t have the concepts down. We don’t understand … You just got to live with it and keep grinding and keep trying to get better.”

After forcing a three-and-out, Smith Voc turned the ball over on its first offensive possession of the game. Quarterback Ty Chapdelaine mishandled the snap, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Drury junior Jamil Wheeler. The Vikings struggled with ball control, putting the ball on the ground four times, but only losing possession once. 

Drury failed to take advantage of the turnover, going three-and-out again. Drury’s offensive line struggled in the first half, which forced the Blue Devils into several third-and-long situations. Outside of senior running back Caelan Briggs (team-high 89 rushing yards), no one else stepped up for Drury. The Blue Devils only picked up two first downs in the opening half.

Toward the end of the first quarter, Smith Voc got on the board courtesy of a run from 19 yards out by sophomore Brayden LaRose. The Vikings scored on their next three possessions, with LaRose adding another touchdown run from 25 yards out. Junior Michael Theriault and senior Bryan Leyton also added touchdown runs in the first half, giving the Vikings a 30-0 lead.

“Yeah, [the turnovers] could’ve shot us in the foot and killed all of the momentum, but huge shoutout to the kids playing defense,” Smith Voc head coach Alex Subocz said. “They’ve been lockdown over the last nine quarters or something, and that helped with field position and then the offense was able to get going and that was great.”

The Vikings’ rushing attack was anchored by LaRose and Baer, proving a strong 1-2 punch combining for 169 of the team’s 252 rushing yards. Although the pair led the way for Smith Voc, Subocz made sure to point out the work of Leyton as well.

“Brayden LaRose… Just does something every week that you don’t expect to see,” Subocz said. “Like the trap [play] that he scored on, he broke two tackles and bounced to the outside. Jared [Baer] ... Hard runner and if he hits green grass he’s fast. Bryan [Leyton] is our shifty guy. He can make guys miss and once he’s in the open [field], that’s the beauty of all three of them. Once they hit the open [field] they can go.”

The Vikings put the game on cruise control in the second half, content allowing Drury to have long drives. The Blue Devils put together a solid 17-play drive in the third quarter that was aided by numerous Smith Voc penalties. But unfortunately for Drury, two key penalties in the red zone forced them back, leading to an interception.

Drury (0-4, 0-2 Tri-County) will look to regroup after suffering its third shutout loss of the season. The Blue Devils have two more tilts left of its current three-game homestand, providing a good opportunity to get in the win column. Drury will host Pathfinder next Saturday.

Smith Voc (3-1, 2-0 Tri-County) has now won three consecutive games and has scored 104 points in that span. The Vikings are peaking at the right time and hungry for a Tri-County crown. Smith Voc will hit the road again to take on Springfield ICS next Saturday. 

“Can’t complain about winning three in a row,” Subocz said. “I do think that we need to continue to clean things up. The ball was on the ground a little bit more than I’d like.”