DEWEY - Last Friday night’s scrimmage against Dewey and Adair didn’t win the Victory Christian football team any district points, but it should have showed the team and the teams on its schedule that the 2010 Conquerors are ready to compete with anyone they line up against.

            With lots of new faces on the sidelines and some on the field, the 2010 season began with VCS playing 3A Dewey and 2A Adair to an even draw if they were keeping points on the scoreboard. Total yardage was about the same and with the exception of a couple long pass plays that missed coverages gave up, the Conqueror defense held both opponents in check.

            Victory was especially stingy on the ground, only giving up 59 yards on 28 attempts by Dewey and Adair combined. At the same time, the Conqueror offense was able to create some room for their own running backs, gaining 73 yards on the ground – with junior Caleb Bowen leading the way with 33 yards on four carries, including a nifty 20 yard scamper against Adair on a perfectly executed zone read play.

            The Conquerors other score came in their second series against Dewey, when junior Matt Tedescucci, who got the start at quarterback, found senior split end Evan Roland deep over the middle for a 37-yard strike. Tedescucci finished the night with 9-14 passing for 55 yards and the one score. Most important though, was the fact that he didn’t throw one ball to the wrong colored jersey – something that happened far too often a year ago for head coach Brent Marley’s offense.

            Senior Josh Pagtelian led the defense with 5 tackles from his middle linebacker position, while junior corner Daniel King and sophomore outside linebacker Josiah Freeseman added four apiece.

            Maybe the brightest spot for the defense was the play of the interior linemen, led by junior tackle Kyle Kluding , who racked up 3 tackles and one sack. This was especially important for the Conqerors who have been looking for some depth in those spots over the last couple years.

            While Coach Marley certainly would have liked to have put more points on the board – the three fumbles that the offense gave away causing some amount of concern – he and his staff have to be pleased with their effort against a Dewey team that dominated them a year ago and an Adair team that will certainly be in the running for a 2A playoff spot come November.