MOBILE, Ala. — Junior quarterback Anthony Gill completed 16 of 26 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 2-ranked Class 4A Vigor overcame a mountain of penalties to beat rival Blount 28-7 on Saturday night in the annual “Battle of Prichard” at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The season-opening victory extended two long-running trends for the Wolves: it was Vigor’s seventh straight win in the series, which the program now leads 41-14 all-time.
Gill and Wilson connect early and often
Vigor built its lead through the air. Zy Wilson hauled in two touchdown receptions — from 32 and 6 yards out — while Terrell Prince caught a 13-yard scoring pass and Demetris Johnson added a rushing touchdown for the Wolves.
Vigor led 8-0 in the first quarter after Gill found Prince on the 13-yard strike. Wilson’s 32-yard scoring catch and Johnson’s 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter pushed the margin to 21-0.
Blount answers, but Vigor responds
The Leopards narrowed the gap to 21-7 on a 1-yard scoring run by KeeVaughn Johnson, who finished with 73 yards on 17 carries. Vigor answered when Wilson grabbed his second touchdown reception of the night, a 6-yarder that made it 28-7 with 9:31 remaining.
‘We’re going to go watch the film’
The victory did not come cleanly. Vigor was flagged 18 times for 129 yards, a total that left coach Renardo Jackson looking ahead to the practice field even as he welcomed the win.
“It’s always good to win and it’s better to be at 1-0 instead of 0-1,” Jackson said. “I can’t say we played a clean game, so we’re going to go and watch the film and figure out a way to clean it up.”
Cleaning up the penalties will be the early-season priority for a Vigor team that once again enters the fall among the favorites in Class 4A. For Blount, the opener offered flashes — particularly on the ground behind Johnson — as the Leopards look to close the gap in one of the area’s most storied rivalries.