Brannon King

For the FCT

If you like defensive football Vina was the place to be Friday night.

In the preseason jamboree, Vina and Phil Campbell played to a 0-0 tie in the two-quarter varsity game at Franklin-Hester Stadium.

A good crowd for both teams witnessed the hard-hitting action between the two Franklin County squads. The game was the debut of new Phil Campbell head coach Ryan Swinney.

Vina’s Jo Jo Emerson made the first big impact of the night on defense when he intercepted a Tristan Godsey pass midway through the first quarter.  After both teams traded punts, the Bobcats returned the favor when Casey Galloway picked off a Tyler Renfrow pass ending the opening quarter.

The Red Devils and Bobcats each showed good discipline and committed few penalties throughout the game considering many players were new to the game atmosphere of a Friday night against a new opponent.

Phil Campbell started the second quarter fast as Colby Baker took a handoff and raced 33 yards setting up the offense in Red Devil territory.  However, the drive stalled as a fourth down pass fell incomplete turning the ball back over to Vina.

Andrew Hester and Jo Jo Emerson shared most of the load out of the backfield for Vina on the night while Colby Baker and Casey Galloway got most of the carries for Phil Campbell.  Galloway also shined on defense following up his late first quarter interception with another near the end of the second.

Vina’s Drake Hester got in on the act picking off a pass with less than a minute to go in the game.  The Phil Campbell defense stood strong though keeping the Red Devils out of the endzone with good coverage in the secondary and a sack as time expired.

The coaches of both teams were pleased by the effort of their players, but both saw plenty of room for improvement before next week’s regular season opener.

“We played hard and made some mistakes.  We’re still learning,” Phil Campbell coach Ryan Swinney said.

“I’m proud of our effort and Vina played well.”

The Swinnney era will officially get underway as Phil Campbell will host Tharptown in week one of the regular season.

Vina head coach James Pharr will be entering his fourth year leading the Red Devils.

“We played much better and I’m proud of our kids especially on defense,” Pharr said after the shutout.

Vina will open the season at Cherokee.