Vernon's Veer attack controls clock, stuns Bay

PANAMA CITY — Vernon coach Russ Rogers said that some fans in Washington County were questioning the sanity of scheduling Bay Friday night in a kickoff classic.

The prevailing wisdom was that the Class 1A Yellow Jackets were likely to get some key players hurt against the Class 3A Tornadoes at Tommy Oliver Stadium.

After Vernon held on for a 14-12 victory, about the only thing hurt was Bay’s feelings.

The Yellow Jackets were able to control the clock with their Veer attack, and forced the Tornadoes to move the ball through the air. That was a formula that eventually led to an upset.

“We’ve got to play more aggressive up front,” Bay coach Frank Sorrells said. “That was the main thing, they controlled the line of scrimmage.

“We’re trying to run it, but we’ve got to block better. We just did not execute very well.”

The disparity showed in quarterback Kevin Husum leading Bay with 85 yards rushing, including a 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Overall, however, the Tornadoes gained 78 yards on the ground.

By comparison, Vernon ate up more than 28 minutes of the clock with 46 running plays. Almost half of them were dives with fullback J.J. Roache who ran for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Roache’s relief, C.J. Lee, had seven carries for 28 yards and the other touchdown.

“We made a good adjustment and in the second half blocked it different,” Rogers said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up, but this was big for us.

“We were able to keep the defense off the field, and then the defense stepped up for us at the end.”

Vernon led 14-6 at the half, but Husum found Deonte Dunklin in stride with a 42-yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. Bay’s attempt for a conversion failed when Husum connected with Demetrius Barnes, but the receiver was ruled out of bounds.

The two-point try was necessitated by a missed extra point by Gunner Thrasher after Husum’s touchdown dash. Thrasher’s kick appeared true, but nonetheless was judged otherwise.

Sorrells wasn’t using that as a fallback, realizing his squad was its worst enemy throughout. The bright spot was 181 yards passing by Husum in his first start, and that after spending the spring at running back.

The Tornadoes were relegated to use him ala Tim Tebow at Florida. Husum ran the football out of the Shotgun, and completed five passes each to talented receivers Terrance Lowder and Dunklin. Barnes, who played quarterback in the spring, also is an experienced receiver in what is the deepest skill set in Bay’s offense.

The Tornadoes couldn’t capitalize on an interception by Nigel Hill and his return to Vernon’s 42 with 2:41 remaining. Husum was sacked on first down, and three passes fell incomplete, the final attempt batted down by Shaquille Powell.

Vernon also held Bay on downs inside the 5 in the closing seconds of the first half.

Bay opens the regular season at Port St. Joe next week. Vernon is at Chipley.

Vernon         7 7 0 0 —14
Bay              0 6 6 0 — 12
First quarter
VHS: Roache 1 run (Small kick)
Second quarter
BHS: Husum 48 run (kick failed)
VHS: C.J. Lee 8 run (Small kick)
Third quarter
BHS: Dunklin 42 pass from Husum (pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — VHS: Roache 21-106, D.Lee 8-43, C.J. Lee 7-28, Bell 5-18, Dobbs 1-4, Powell 4-2. BHS: Husum 11-85, Malone-Boy 7-13, Barnes 1-8, Lowder 5-1, team 2-(-29).
PASSING — VHS: D.Lee 2-6-1-36. BHS: Husum 11-21-1-181.
RECEIVING — VHS: Powell 1-24, Hardin 1-12. BHS: Dunklin 5-125, Lowder 5-56.