FOOTBALL: Vineland wins homecoming game

VINELAND — It rained on the parade, but the Vineland High School football team didn’t let that slow it down on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Clan moved to 6-0 with a 35-7 victory over Atlantic City in their homecoming game.

“Feels great, man,” senior linebacker DaQuan Cosby said following the win. “Everything we worked for coming together and that’s the way the team needed to play.”

In the team huddle before the game, Cosby gave a passionate speech about how the team’s record was going to change no matter what. It was either going to be 5-1 or 6-0. He followed that by saying he wasn’t going to let someone come in and win in their house.

“We had a lot of doubters and nay-sayers but we’re proving them wrong and we’re going to keep proving them wrong,” he said.

Leading the way on the offensive side of the ball were a pair of seniors and a junior – the usual suspects.

The three-headed rushing monster made up of Daivon Seymore, Cash Phillips and Isaih Pacheco torched the Viking defense for 291 yards, with the junior quarterback leading the way.

SUPERSTAR: Pacheco looks to return to freshman form

“There were like two (defenders) rushing me, so I had to slide between them and move up in the pocket. I was getting ready to throw the ball, but there was a linebacker so I had to put a little move on him,” Pacheco said of a pass play that turned into a run.

That “little move” that he mentioned turned into a 66-yard touchdown.

Pacheco led the Fighting Clan with 123 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing touchdowns and also went 2-for-9 passing with a 24-yard scoring-toss to tight end Nihym Anderson.

“It’s an excellent feeling,” coach Dan Russo said of having a quarterback like Pacheco who can turn nothing into something. “He’s a special player and we’re very thankful he’s here at Vineland High School with us. ... It’s exciting to watch.”

Seniors Seymore and Phillips each had a final homecoming to remember.

Phillips took 11 carries for 65 yards and Seymore had 13 attempts for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“I’m so proud of them,” Cosby said. “Our offense came together and I’m just so proud of them. It’s what we needed.”

The defense was the difference in the game, as the aerial attack the Vikings like to use was shut down.

Atlantic City attempted 25 passes, completing only 10 for 86 yards. The Fighting Clan were able to come up with a pair of interceptions as well.

The second pick – and final play of the game – was a heave toward the end zone that was well short of a receiver. Cosby was there to make the play and had a handful of blockers in front of him.

Rather than slide to end the game, the senior had a defensive-touchdown on his mind and took it back about 60 yards, but was run down from behind before he could reach the end zone.

“I was just tired,” he said with a laugh. “Too tired.”

KEY TO SUCCESS: Seymore leads ground and pound attack

This group of seniors is in the opposite situation as where they were four years ago as freshmen.

“I’m very proud of them,” Pacheco said. “They’re great leaders and they keep us humble and keeping everyone positive.”

“It’s exciting. You have a vision when you get the job and it’s very rewarding to the staff, myself and the program and anyone we work with,” Russo said of the first group of players to have gone through four years of his tenure. “They’ve believed in us and we’ve believed in them and it’s all just coming together.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs and it’s not easy. They know what our expectations are and I’m happy for them and we’re going to keep moving forward.”

Senior-captain Jarred Banks echoed that sentiment in his post-game speech to the team.

“We still need to keep getting better,” the linebacker said. “We need to keep working if we want to get that championship.”

Trevor Newcomb; (856) 563-5257; tnewcomb@gannettnj.com

Vineland 35, Atlantic City 7

Scoring Summary

V: Daivon Seymore 4 run (conversion failed)

V: Isaih Pacheco 3 run (Robert Kling kick)

V: Seymore 2 run (Pacheco run)

V: Pacheco 66 run (kick failed)

V: Nihym Anderson 24 pass from Pacheco (Pacheco run)

AC: Aaron Jackson 10 run (Azim Baker Coley kick)

Individual stats

Rushing: V-Daivon Seymore 13-103, Cash Phillips 11-65, Isaih Pacheco 15-123, Rayshawn Blakely 2-17, Lindon Williams 1-4; AC-Jabril Shakur 3-3, Nazim Derry 4-(-6), Ishmial Shakur 6-36, Aaron Jackson 7-6, Kamid Moody 3-20.

Passing: V-Pacheco 2-9-1 32 yards; AC-Derry 9-15-1 58 yards, Jackson 1-10-1 28 yards.

Receiving: V-Nihym Anderson 2-32; AC-Jackson 3-24, J. Shakur 1-0, Mike Preston 2-10, Nah-Sir Morgan 2-44, I. Shakur 2-9.