CENTRE – Sophomore running back Jacori Barnes ran for 107 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Anthony Mix ran for a score and threw for another in Class 4A, No. 3 Vigor’s 34-0 victory over Cherokee County in second-round playoff action in Centre on Friday.
It was the Wolves’ second straight playoff shutout. They defeated West Blocton 40-0 in the first round last week.
“Defense wins championships,” Vigor coach John McKenzie said. “If they don’t score, they don’t win. Our defense is pretty good. They’ve got talent, and we’ve got talent all over the field.
“Coaching is easy with these guys. It isn’t anything I do. They want it. They work extremely hard. There’s nothing given to these kids. They work every single day to accomplish their goals, and their goal is to win state Dec. 3. They perform.”
Barnes scored his first touchdown on a 12-yard run with 6:21 remaining in the first quarter. Mix accounted for the Wolves’ next score on a 29-yard pass to Abraham Daniels. The point after was no good, keeping the score at 13-0 Vigor with 8:16 left in the first half.
Barnes’ second touchdown of the night came right before halftime. Mix ran in for the 2-point conversion to make it 21-0 Wolves (11-1) at the break.
“We were kind of sitting there 13-0 and we were thinking if we could get a stop right there and possibly get a score, 13-7 going into halftime, then we get the ball back (to begin the second half). That was the thought process,” Cherokee County coach Jacob Kelley said. “We just couldn’t sustain anything. The passes in the second half we did have we just weren’t able to get our hands on them. I’m proud of the guys. I’m proud of the fight. I’m proud of the season they had. Moving forward, it should give us a little taste of being deeper in the playoffs.
Senior running back Benjamin Bennett added a 6-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter. Mix scored the game’s final touchdown with 1:26 remaining in the game for the final.
Mix ran for 79 yards on seven carries. He also completed 4-of-10 passes for 47 yards.
Senior running back Jermaine Coleman collected a game-high 140 yards on 12 carries for Vigor, which will face American Christian in next week’s third round. American Christian defeated Jacksonville 49-35 in other second-round playoff action on Friday.
Cherokee County (7-4) was limited to 158 total yards (80 passing, 78 rushing). It was the first time the Warriors were shut out since their season opener at Class 3A, No. 4 Piedmont, 27-0.
“They’re a good football team. Hat’s off to them,” Kelley said. “They executed a little better than us tonight.”
Junior quarterback Cade Hopper led the Warriors by completing 9-of-23 pass attempts for 80 yards. He also ran for 29 yards on nine carries. Senior running back Damien Ramsey finished with 17 yards on 11 carries.
Senior defensive back CJ Gresham had an interception for the Warriors.
“It’s tough,” Kelley said. “I’m proud of the guys. I’m proud of the fight. I’m proud of the season they had. We’re happy to be in Game 12, but we weren’t satisfied. This is where we want to be, deeper in the playoffs. Hopefully it will be something to build on moving forward.”
