Football: No. 4 Damascus pummels No. 25 Seneca Valley on senior night, 59-21

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DAMASCUS — After an emphatic 50-yard interception return to slam the door on any sort of Seneca Valley comeback, Cedric Cole darted down the Damascus sideline, ripped off his helmet and gazed at the boisterous Hornet crowd.

With teammates engulfing the scene, Cole — a senior — ferociously pumped his fist into the cool Friday night atmosphere knowing he delivered the town of Damascus another rout to savor.

“The fans, I’m so happy they come to our games,” Cole said after No. 4 Damascus pummeled No. 25 Seneca Valley, 59-21. “So much adrenaline, so much heart.”

The interception return gave Damascus a 21-7 lead with five minutes remaining in the first quarter, and was one of Cole’s two touchdowns on the night. Cole’s first score came on Seneca Valley’s opening offensive drive, when he scooped up an Adrian Feliz-Platt fumble and raced 46 yards to give Damascus a 7-0 lead.

“He’s a playmaker,” said Damascus head coach Eric Wallich. “I’m really happy for him.”

In the first seven minutes, Cole grabbed the game by the scruff with his defensive heroics. For the rest of the way, it was another resounding performance by the Hornets (9-0) fueled by a seemingly immovable offensive line and a stifling defense that forced six turnovers.

The showing was fitting on the senior night stage and coming against their cross-county rivals. The emphatic performance also dished out Wallich’s 100th career victory as a head coach.

“I’ve had some incredible players that I’ve coached, made so many great relationships with people. It’s just been a lot of fun,” Wallich said of win No. 100. “We’ve had some great wins, and some bad losses that have hurt a lot. It’s amazing.”

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Friday night’s victory gave Damascus their 25th straight victory. Their last loss came against Franklin in the 2014 Class 3A state championship — a game they led at halftime. All eight Damascus touchdowns came in the first half, as they held a 56-21 lead.

During a pregame team meal, Damascus running backs Elijah Atkins (100 yards rushing, three touchdowns) and Markus Vinson (208 total yards, three touchdowns) huddled around each other and rattled off their collective predictions. Vinson first predicted a 42-10 Hornet victory, which wasn’t far off. But his next prediction was lottery-esque.

“I came up to [Markus] and asked him how many [touchdowns] we’re going to get. Markus said, ‘We’re gonna get three touchdowns, each,'” Atkins said. “We came out here and did it.”

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After a 60 pass reception from Markus Vinson, Elijah Atkins scampers in from 8 yds out. That’s a 2-play, 68 yd drive. Damascus is up, 14-7. https://t.co/3vPzv050tQ

In many ways, Friday night’s 38-point victory was fitting for the town of Damascus. For Vinson, it was the final time and cherry top of an undefeated run against Seneca Valley.

“It feels great beating them on senior night,” Vinson said. “Wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”

For the second year in a row, Damascus improves to 9-0 with a firm grasp of homefield advantage in the 3A West playoff race. If Friday night was any indication on what the future holds, the Hornets are in the driver’s seat to capture a second straight state crown, and the ninth in school history.

“Great moment,” Atkins said. “Definitely a night to remember.”

Seneca Valley (7-2) running back Adrian Feliz-Platt rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries. Zack Robinson passed for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Harold Dotson caught three passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns.

“That might be the last time we play Seneca Valley; it’s our rivals, it’s a huge game,” Cole said. “That’s why I love the game so much, man.”

Box score

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
No. 4 DAM (9-0)	28	28	3	0	59
No. 25 SV (7-2)	7	14	0	0	21

 

Scoring summary

First quarter

DAM — Cedric Cole 46-yard fumble return (PAT good), 9:46

SV — Harold Dotson 14-yard pass from Zack Robinson (PAT good), 8:01

DAM — Elijah Atkins 8-yard run (PAT good), 7:01

DAM — Cedric Cole 50-yard interception return (PAT good), 5:00

DAM — Elijah Atkins 6-yard run (PAT good), 3:00

Second quarter

DAM — Markus Vinson 34-yard run (PAT good), 9:49

SV — Harold Dotson 36-yard pass from Zack Robinson (PAT good), 7:46

DAM — Markus Vinson 1-yard run (PAT good), 5:34

DAM — Markus Vinson 8-yard run (PAT good), 3:00

SV — Adrian Feliz-Platt 28-yard run (PAT good), 1:55

DAM — Elijah Atkins 1-yard run (PAT good), 0:56

Third quarter

DAM — John Furgeson 25-yard field goal, 9:55

Fourth quarter

None