Vikings Fall in Football Season-Opener to Army Prep in OT
CONTACT: R. Sean Coffey, (518) 629-7898, r.coffey@hvcc.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, Sept. 6, 2010
The Hudson Valley Community College football team (0-1) was defeated by Army Prep in its season opener on Saturday, Sept. 4, 21-14 in overtime. The Vikings led for the majority of the contest, but gave up a late scoring drive that knotted the game at 14. Army then capitalized in overtime, scoring a touchdown on its first possession and stopping the Vikings on their final attempt.
After a scoreless first quarter dominated by defense and special teams, the Vikings were able to get on the board first with a touchdown run by running back Kenny Youngs (Lansingburgh/Troy). The local product had a tremendous day for his Hudson Valley debut as he rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries and the mentioned touchdown. He also caught two passes out of the back field for an additional 28 yards.
At the half, the Vikings still held a 7-0 lead. The third quarter showed both defenses unwilling to yield any points as the score remained steady going into the fourth quarter. The quarter picked up with the Black Knights driving. Army capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven with the ensuing extra point with 11:13 remaining. Hudson Valley struck right back with a four-minute drive ending with an impressive 17-yard pass from quarterback Brandon Norman (Pencador Charter/Bear, DE) that was caught in the corner of the end zone by wide receiver Tracy Cauthen Jr. (East Orange Campus/East Orange) to give the Vikings a 14-7 lead with 6:40 to go.
The Viking defense picked up where they started, forcing Army Prep into a fourth-and-seven on their own 35-yard line. But Hudson Valley failed to defend the Black Knight's fake punt attempt, resulting in a game-saving first-down. Army Prep marched down the field after the conversion, scoring the equalizing touchdown on a 12-yard run with 2:06 remaining.
On Hudson Valley's ensuing drive, the Vikings were able to advance the ball to the Army Prep 33-yard line to set up a 50-yard, desperation field goal attempt with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation. The kick was short and left, forcing the game into overtime. Army began overtime with the ball and punched through the Viking defense in two plays for a touchdown. Hudson Valley then took possession and was forced into two desperation heaves at the end zone after a second-down miscue put them in third-and-long and fourth-and-long situations, solidifying the final score at 21-14
Other notables for the Vikings were defensive lineman Waverly Harris (George Washington/Philadelphia, PA) who had nine-and-a-half tackles on the day, safety Sidiq Soulemana (DeWitt-Clinton/Bronx) with eight-and-a-half tackles and James Seay (Potomac/Washington D.C.) with the lone Viking interception.
The Vikings will be on the road Saturday, Sept. 11 when they compete against ASA in their first conference game of the season.