MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Berry Football was at home Saturday afternoon to face the Sewanee Tigers, who they overpowered in impressive fashion by a score of 53-10.
A career-high of 4 touchdowns and 323 passing yards would be the story of the day for the Viking offense thanks to the arm of Junior QB, Christian Lewis, as they punctured the Sewanee defense repeatedly for huge gains through the air.
After a quick stop by the Viking defense on the Tigers' game-opening drive, the Vikings would get the party started as Christian Lewis found wide receiver Khamari Smith streaking down the middle of the field for a 41-yard Touchdown. The Vikings then utilized their patented "muddle huddle" to convert a two-point conversion as Brendan Gray lofted a beautiful ball to Nate Lyons to propel the Vikings to a 8-0 lead.
Berry's defense held strong again on the ensuing drive with a textbook open-field tackle from Junior defensive back Jack Murray. On the Vikings' second drive, All-American running back Brandon Cade introduced himself to the Tiger defense, exploding for a 44-yard touchdown, and the Vikings enjoyed a 15-0 lead with just over 9 minutes to play in the first quarter.
Another 3-and-out produced by the Viking defense set up the offense perfectly near midfield. The Vikings wasted no time adding to their lead with Christian Lewis' longest pass of the day that sailed right down the middle of the field to Brendan Gray for a resounding 51-yard touchdown strike, leading the team to a commanding 22-0 first-quarter lead.
Sewanee would finally answer the 22-point run from the Vikings with a steady drive that ended in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jacorin Thompson to Dyer Barnes, cutting the Berry lead to 15.
Berry opened the second quarter with a couple of Brandon Cade rushes that set up Trey Richards, who nailed a 31-yard field goal, making it a 25-7 ball game.
A few drives later, Sewanee was forced to punt again by the relentless Viking defense, but Junior Dreshawn Stevens had other plans, as he raced into the backfield and blocked the punt. The Viking offense then finished the job with a 9-yard touchdown from Christian Lewis to Brendan Gray who picked up his second receiving touchdown of the day.
The Vikings enjoyed a 32-7 lead at the half but were not done yet. The Berry defense came up big with an interception from senior Nick Palmer. Berry's offense then methodically pushed the ball down the field behind the legs of Freshman running back Brayden Hardy. The drive was capped off with yet another Christian Lewis touchdown pass. This time, he shared the wealth by finding wide receiver Khamari Smith for a 14-yard touchdown. That TD put Berry up 39-7 with 4:59 to go in the third quarter.
The Tigers then were able to muster some offense, driving down the field. The Berry defensive unit was able to band together and hold them to a field goal behind a pass breakup from defensive back Jack Murray. The Sewanee field goal would cut the Viking lead to 29 near the end of the third quarter.
A couple of empty drives kept the score at 39-10 until defensive back Jack Murray read a deep pass perfectly and intercepted it. Murray did not stop there though, as he bolted down the sideline for a defensive touchdown, bringing the score to 46-10 with 6:18 to play.
With the game well in hand, the Vikings continued their dominance as running back Zavion Plunkett found a seam down the middle of the Tiger defense and surged down the field for a 56-yard touchdown run, with just two minutes to play.
This would ultimately end the game as the Viking highlight reel was finally brought to a close, 53-10.
Standouts from the game included wide receiver Brendan Gray, who notched a season-high of 190 yards receiving on 9 catches and added 2 touchdowns. QB Christian Lewis was lights out with his 4 touchdowns and over 300 yards passing, not to mention a 71 percent completion percentage. Defensively, Jake Whitten led the way in tackles with 6. The defense as a collective also forced Sewanee to punt seven times, dominating the time of possession in the process.
The Vikings will be in action again next weekend for a marquee matchup with Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, at 2:00 PM ET.
