Bayleigh Childers is crowned Vina Homecoming Queen. She was escorted by Joseph Emerson.

By Brannon King

For the FCT

Many teams have a tough time in their homecoming games, and the Vina Red Devils were no different Friday night as they fell to the Meek Tigers, 30-6 at Franklin-Hester Stadium in front of a big home crowd.
Vina (2-3) fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and trailed 22-6 at the half before playing better in the second half. The Red Devils held Meek scoreless in the third quarter and only gave up eight points in the fourth quarter on a blocked punt and two-point conversion but just couldn’t get much going offensively.

“I thought we came out flat the first quarter, but we really picked up things the rest of the game,” Vina head coach Luke Childers said. “Defensively, after the first quarter, we played a heck of a game.”

Vina’s offense scored its lone touchdown when Tanner Miller connected with Blake Hester on a 45-yard TD pass with 52 seconds remaining in the first half. Vina’s Tyler Renfrow rushed for 47 yards on 17 carries in the game with just nine of those yards coming in the first half.

Meek got on the board first when Elijah Wilson scored on a 16-yard run on the opening drive of the game, and Bailey Heath ran in the try for two.

Vina then went three-and-out, and two plays later, Meek found the end zone again when Justin Lane hit Scott Irving for a 50-yard TD pass to put the Tigers up 14-0.

Vina gained some momentum late in the first quarter with a big hit on a Meek fake punt but just couldn’t get anything going on offense after the big play.

Tanner Miller, Joseph Emerson and William Upton were able to make big plays on defense for Vina by sacking the Meek quarterback one time each. Emerson’s sack came on a first and goal play for Meek at the Vina five-yard-line, and it ended the first half. Upton also fell on a short kickoff by Meek to start the second half to give the Red Devils good field position.

Vina did not lose any fumbles in the contest and threw only one interception on the night, which came on the last play of the game. However, penalties plagued the Red Devils throughout the game. Meek’s stingy defense was also able to put pressure on the Vina quarterbacks, making it hard for the Red Devils to get things going through the air.

Despite the slow start, Vina never gave up and played hard for the entire game.