A week after one of the more surprising results in Class 4A, Vigor got its roster back and got its season back at the same time. The Wolves routed Citronelle 42-8 at Wolfpack Stadium on Friday night, with Zy Wilson scoring twice and setting up a third touchdown on a kickoff return that flipped the game before the Wildcats had a chance to settle.
The win moved Vigor to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Class 4A, Region 1 play, one week after a 21-19 loss to Orange Beach that had been the upset of the week across Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Zy Wilson Did a Little of Everything
Wilson finished with two receptions for 51 yards and three carries for 28 yards and a score, which undersells the night considerably. His contributions came in three phases:
- A 26-yard touchdown reception
- A 6-yard touchdown run
- A 69-yard kickoff return that set up a touchdown pass on the very next play
Vigor coach Renardo Jackson did not hedge when asked about him.
“We pride ourselves on being family, and we’re always excited when the family’s back together,” Jackson said. “I said it since Media Day — Zy Wilson is pound for pound the best football player in the state of Alabama. He can do anything on the football field, and he’s a dynamic, explosive kid.”
The phrase “the family’s back together” is doing specific work in that quote, and it is the key to understanding the night.
The Suspensions That Shaped Two Weeks
Wilson and several other key Vigor starters — including defensive lineman Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror, a Texas commit — were suspended for the previous week’s game against Orange Beach. Vigor lost that game 21-19.
Citronelle coach Jason Rowell, whose team had arrived undefeated, made the connection directly and without complaint.
“We came into a hornet’s nest with those guys being suspended last week,” Rowell said. “Those guys who didn’t play last week are real difference makers.”
That is a coach saying, in plain terms, that he ran into a fully loaded version of a team that had just lost while shorthanded — the worst possible timing. Vigor had a point to make, its best players available to make it, and a home crowd that had watched the previous Friday.
How It Unfolded
Demetris Johnson’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:49 left in the first quarter opened the scoring at 6-0. The second quarter is where the game left.
Jhi Brown ran in a 2-yard touchdown early in the period and found Miguel Wilson for a two-point conversion. Zy Wilson’s 26-yard touchdown catch and 6-yard touchdown run followed, and Vigor carried a 27-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter opened with Brown’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Prince on the first play from scrimmage — the possession set up by Wilson’s 69-yard kickoff return — for a 34-0 lead. Citronelle finally scored on Javorious Coleman’s 11-yard run, but Rashad Miles intercepted a pass and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the quarter to put the game away at 42-8.
A Backup Quarterback Who Did Not Play Like One
One of the more encouraging developments for Vigor came at the position where teams can least afford an injury.
Jhi Brown started in place of Anthony Gill, who was hurt at practice during the week. Brown completed 5 of 8 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns and added four carries for 26 yards and a score.
Five completions producing 107 yards works out to better than 21 yards per completion — an efficient, chunk-play performance rather than a conservative game-management effort. For a team that had just lost a game it was favored to win, getting that from a backup making an unplanned start is the kind of depth that matters in a long season.
Johnson added 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Vigor outgained Citronelle 261-170.
Citronelle’s Night
The Wildcats came in undefeated and left at 2-1 overall, 0-1 in region play, having found very little that worked through the air.
Quarterback Walker Lynch finished 5 of 15 for 24 yards and was sacked twice, pressured throughout by Garror and the rest of a Vigor front that had its full complement of starters for the first time in two weeks. Kobe Weaver added two carries for 51 yards and went 0-for-2 passing.
Javorious Coleman was the bright spot, rushing 14 times for 86 yards and scoring on an 11-yard run — and Rowell made a point of saying so.
“Coleman had a pretty good night,” Rowell said. “He had some tough yards after contact and he ran very hard. He’s going to be an asset.”
Then Rowell offered an assessment of the region that doubled as context for the loss.
“We know this is the toughest Class 4A region in the state without question, and I’ll take that to my grave.”
Is He Right About the Region?
The claim holds up reasonably well on the evidence. Class 4A, Region 1 in Mobile and Baldwin counties this season contains Vigor, a fourth-ranked program and recent state finalist; Williamson, ranked No. 1 and undefeated; Orange Beach, which started 4-0 for the first time in school history; LeFlore, which entered Week 4 unbeaten; and Citronelle itself, which arrived Friday at 2-0.
That is a region where a good team can lose twice and still be good, which is roughly Vigor’s situation after four weeks. A 3-1 record that includes a two-point loss while missing several starters is not the profile of a team in trouble.
What Jackson Said About the Response
Jackson framed the week in terms of opportunity rather than redemption.
“We were excited for the opportunity to get back into the win column in a tough region,” he said. “Citronelle came into the game undefeated, and we knew they were going to be very physical and confident in what they do, so I was proud of the way the guys went out and played.”
The restraint there is notable. Vigor had every reason to treat the Orange Beach loss as an insult and Friday as an answer. Jackson talked instead about a physical, confident opponent and a region that does not hand out wins.
Up Next
Vigor has an open date and returns Sept. 25 at Benjamin Russell. The bye arrives at a useful moment — Gill’s injury has time to heal, and a team that has already played a ranked-opponent upset loss and a blowout response gets a week to reset.
Citronelle hosts LeFlore on Friday, which offers an immediate chance to get back into the region race against another team that just took its first loss.