JASPER, Ala. – The No. 3-ranked Jasper Vikings opened the season with a 21-19 victory over rival Cullman Thursday night at Ki-Ro/Gambrell Field. The win marked the first time since 2010 the Vikings earned a defeat over Cullman, and it was the first win against the Bearcats in a home game since 2004. The win also gives Jasper the edge in the overall series at 35-34-2.
“It is something special to beat Cullman,” Jasper coach Bryan Moore said. “I know what this rivalry is about and how much it means to the kids and the community. You take those wins any way that you can get them. I hope we keep this game going for a long time, because this rivalry is a lot of fun.”
The Vikings dominated on the stat sheet with 372 total yards compared to 285
for Cullman. Jasper finished with 148 yards on the ground, while throwing for
224 yards. The Jasper defense gave up two big plays, but otherwise kept the
Bearcats in check for most of the game. Harrison Saunders and Taris Rudolph led
the defense with 10 tackles each. Kevon Samuel and Sheldrick Cherry has
interceptions on the night. Jayden Vance, Jacob Danner and Kaedyn Marchbanks
each had seven tackles.
“After not finishing the game last year, we did what we had to do this year to
come out with a win,” Moore said. “We have a lot of stuff to work on, and we
have to get better. We didn’t execute very well on offense for much of the
night and we gave up the big plays on defense. We had a couple of chances to
put them away, and we fumbled the ball, which isn’t like us.”
The Jasper running game only had 24 yards on the ground at halftime, but the
senior duo of Kaden Shelton and J.C. Collins bounced back in the second half to
finish with strong performances. Shelton ran for 74 yards and a touchdown on 14
carries while also finishing the night with one touchdown pass for 41 yards.
Collins ran for 78 yards on 21 carries.
Parker Sawyer, the new starting quarterback for the Vikings, has an efficient
night, throwing for 183 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-22 passing. Xavier
Waldrep led the receivers with four catches for 64 yards and a score, while
Denzel Chatman picked up 48 yards and a touchdown on three catches.
Jasper opened the scoring on the night when Shelton hit Waldrep on a 41-yard
halfback pass with 9:28 left in the second quarter. Preston Reed connected on
the point after to give Jasper a 7-0 lead. Cullman answered late in the first
half when Max Dueland connected with Isaiah Jones on an 83-yard pass. The point
after try failed after a fumbled snap, which gave Jasper a 7-6 lead at
halftime.
Jasper opened the second half with a long drive that saw Shelton cap it with a
14-yard run to give the Vikings a 14-6 lead. Jasper also opened the fourth
quarter with its last score of the night when Sawyer hit Chatman on a 16-yard
pass. The Vikings were up 21-6 with 11:24 left in the game.
The Bearcats would not give up, scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns. An
interception by Samuel late in the game sealed the win for the Vikings.
Jasper will now have a bye week before returning to action in week three of the
season when they host Dora in a Class 5A, Region 7 matchup. Cullman will now
travel to Mortimer Jordan next week.
