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Football Rallies Past #3 Covenant

October 16, 2009 -

After rallying from a 17-0 deficit in the second quarter, the VES Bishops found themselves trailing by six points in the fourth. But two touchdown passes put VES up 40-32 to earn its first win of the season. The Bishops used a balanced attack to amass 447 yards of offense and forced four Covenant turnovers on the other side of the ball.

Covenant kicked a field goal on the opening possession of the game, then scored in just two plays after a Bishop punt. A deflected pass was intercepted on VES’s next offensive possession, which led to another Eagle touchdown and VES trailed 17-0 midway through the second quarter.

But the Bishops responded with a 17-play 103 yard drive (because of penalties) capped by an 11-yard strike from junior quarterback Dan Alexander to classmate Zach Jones. The Bishops converted a two-point conversion and then forced a Covenant punt. VES threatened to score again, but the clock ran out with the ball on the Covenant seven-yard line and VES trailed 17-8 at the half.

VES received the second half kickoff and used a 13-play drive to add another touchdown. Freshman Tyler Stevens ran the ball in from three yards out to bring the Bishops within three points. Stevens’ touchdown was the first of three for VES in the third quarter.

The Bishop defense prevented the big play by the Eagles in the third quarter. VES used good field position to march 54 yards and take the lead on a nine-yard pass from Alexander to sophomore Martin Owens.

Leading 20-17, a couple of VES freshmen provided some excitement on the Bishops’ next score. Freshman nose guard Sumner Higginbotham tipped an Eagle pass attempt that was caught by fellow freshman Nathaniel Moore, who raced 50 yards for a defensive touchdown giving VES a 26-17 lead.

Covenant responded quickly though, scoring on its next play from scrimmage on a 60-yard pass. On its next possession, Covenant took the lead with a five-yard run at the end of an eight-play drive. The Eagles point after touchdown gave them a 32-26 lead in the fourth quarter.

VES rallied again with two long touchdown passes. Alexander connected with junior Cooper Graham on a 41-yard touchdown pass to tie the game. On the next possession, Alexander hit Owens on a 36-yard go route then ran in the two-point conversion to give VES a 40-32 lead with just over two minutes left.

The offense was not the only unit that stepped up in the final quarter. Moore picked off a second pass followed by Alexander, who nabbed his second interception of the season. The teams traded possessions in the final two minutes as VES tried to run out the clock. Jones intercepted the ball on the final play of the game to seal the Bishops’ win.

Sophomore running back Cohen Howard had a breakout game with 101 rushing yards on 17 carries. He also had 50 receiving yards on four catches. Alexander added 51 yards on the ground and finished with 23 completions on 37 pass attempts for 276 yards and four touchdowns. Owens led the team with eight catches for 69 yards. A total of seven different Bishops had a reception on the afternoon.

The Bishop defense held Covenant to just 69 rushing yards. Senior linebacker Ben Cartner made a return to the field after missing the last four games with a back injury and had a big impact for VES, including two tackles for loss.

The Bishops will host Blue Ridge next Saturday for Homecoming. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.