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Published Saturday, October 31, 2009 in Sports

Vikings' best news comes after loss to Sandy Creek

By Chris Goltermann

The Times-Herald

The most valuable piece of equipment at Henry Seldon Field for Northgate on Friday against Sandy Creek turned out to be a cellphone and not a football.

And not that the Vikings necessarily wanted to call for help -- as much as Sandy Creek's 37-3 victory was a one-sided affair.

Northgate got word that Whitewater had helped keep its Class AAAA state-playoff hopes alive with a 45-10 win over McIntosh, pushing the Vikings into next Friday's region playoff against surprising Mays after Villa Rica botched its chance to clinch its subregion with a 15-8 loss at Tri-Cities.

On Friday, the Vikings (3-6, 2-3) might not have wanted to see any more of Sandy Creek, which dominated three periods of play before Northgate waved the white flag. The Patriots out-gained Northgate 374-45 in total yards before backups entered the game.

Maybe even more impressive, Sandy Creek's best weapon on another misty Friday night was quarterback Ronnie Bell and a slew of talented receivers. Bell threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, hitting 13 of 18 attempts. The effort nearly overshadowed Patriots tailback Raijon Neal, who was 'held' to 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns on a hit-or-miss night for the talented senior.

Neal, who has fumbled just one time this season, now has 24 touchdowns as Sandy Creek (8-1, 5-0) will play Banneker (6-2, 5-1) in Friday's Region 5-AAAA championship game. Starr's Mill will host Villa Rica (5-3, 4-2), which lost back-to-back games against Mays and Tri-Cities to fall into third place.

Northgate never got the extended offensive drive it hoped for, settling for a field goal while getting help from a fumbled Sandy Creek punt return recovered by Cody Gatewood. Down 10-0, Casey Vaughan's 29-yarder gave the Vikings a bit of life with 9:09 left in the first half.

But Sandy Creek thrived on a pair of second-and-20 situations in the first half, twice pulling off first downs that led to scores. The second of which saw Bell hit senior Devon Hughes in stride for a 33-yard catch that set up Neal's second touchdown for a 17-3 lead.

The Patriots' athleticism shined through the wet weather. If it wasn't Neal, Bell or Hughes, who caught four passes for 90 yards in the first half, Sandy Creek's Jarrett Davis was providing a big target.

With Northgate's offense held to a pair of first downs and unable to convert on its first nine third-down attempts, Sandy Creek consistently took advantage of field possession. Taking over at Northgate's 43 yard line with just over a minute to play in the first half, the Patriots needed five plays to reach paydirt, with Bell having a hand in all five snaps.

Bell was 3-for-3 on the drive, first hitting Davis for a 23-yard gain and then scrambling in the pocket three plays later from the Viking 10-yard line to find the big senior again in the end zone to make it 23-3 at halftime.

Sandy Creek scored on its first-two drives of the third quarter to ice it on a 1-yard run from Neal and a touchdown pass from Bell to Alex Chisum on a 15-yard slant route.