Indians shutout Saints to remain undefeated

Published 4:16 pm Saturday, October 31, 2015

THE KEEPER: Walker Hill scored the Chocowinity Indians’ first touchdown on a five-yard quarterback keeper. His side remained undefeated with a 22-0 win over the Washington Saints on Sunday.

THE KEEPER: Walker Hill scored the Chocowinity Indians’ first touchdown on a five-yard quarterback keeper. His side remained undefeated with a 22-0 win over the Washington Saints on Sunday.

CHOCOWINITY — The 10U Chocowinity Indians remained undefeated with a 22-0 win over the Washington Saints in Sunday morning’s clash. The Saints had the game within reach until a turnover-plagued second half. Trailing 8-0 late in the second quarter, they had the opportunity to close the gap before getting the ball back to start the third quarter.

Instead, the Indians stuffed an attempt at running the ball up the middle and then made a tackle in the backfield. With one second left on the clock, Kyonte Moore was able to haul in a pass, but was about six yards shy of the buzzer-beating touchdown.

The Saints were set to receive the kickoff to open the second half. They did, but were stripped of the ball at their own 26-yard line. Monvonte Deloach ran thrice for 23 yards before Walker Hill ran to the goal line. He plowed through the cluster at the line to punch in the touchdown from inches out.

That score game the Indians a two-possession, 16-0 lead. The Saints’ defense kept it in the game. Deloach rushed into the red zone as the third quarter ended. A holding penalty called back his touchdown run in the beginning of the fourth period. The Saints remained stout and forced a turnover on downs.

The offense, with its back to the end zone, fumbled the ball away on the second play of the ensuing series. The Indians recovered and set up at the Saints’ four-yard line. Deloach scampered in on the next play to give the Indians a 22-0 stranglehold on the game.

The Indians marched down the field on their first drive of the game. They took chunks of yardage, including a 14-yard run by Jody Pierce and a 19-yard dash by K.J. Moore. Hill, looking to pass from the Saints’ five-yard line, elected to keep it himself and scurry five yards for the game’s first score.

Besides their drive late in the first, the Saints struggled to get much going on offense in the first two quarters. Back-to-back incompletions on their first series yielded a turnover on downs. They went three-and-out on their next drive. It wasn’t until that aforementioned late drive that the Saints were able to get a first down.