Last Friday, the Vandegrift Vipers looked to challenge the undefeated Manor Mustangs on the road. Besides from a season-opening loss to an underrated Dripping Springs team, the Vipers have been able to dismantle every team that has been in their way. However, Manor has the athletes to challenge disciplined teams thanks to players such as 2023 four-star running back Quinten Joyner and 2023 four-star defensive end Princewill Umanmielen.
To open Friday’s contest, senior USC commit Quinten Joyner showcased why he is one of the top running backs in the state as he broke off a 44-yard touchdown rush. While Manor was able to jump to a quick 6-0 lead over Vandegrift due to this play, Manor’s touchdown rush proved to be just about the only highlight for them on Friday night.
At quarterback for the Vipers, senior Brayden Buchanan proved to be adept at drawing Manor’s defensive line offsides, which created a few large chunk play opportunities for his team. Furthermore, 2023 four-star offensive tackle Ian Reed and the rest of the Vandegrift offensive line held their own against a talented Mustangs front, particularly excelling on passing plays.
Ultimately, Vandegrift ended up distancing themselves from the Mustangs after seemingly killing them with one thousand five-yard pickups throughout the night. Moreover, senior running back Alex Witt helped to provide the Vipers with a spark as he found the end zone twice on the night, and helped lead Vandegrift to a 34-6 victory.
Extra Point:
Despite of the loss, Quinten Joyner was certainly a fun running back to watch. He had a countless number of broken tackles and was a hard man for the Vipers to bring to the ground. Joyner finished the game tallying 154 yards on 26 carries, along with the big first quarter touchdown rush.
Currently, 247Sports has Joyner ranked as the eight-best running back in the country’s 2023 recruiting cycle. The Austin-area product has not received an offer from the Longhorns, who have a pledge from the second-ranked running back in the class, Cedric Baxter Jr.
Along with Joyner, Vandegrift’s Ian Reed is another talented Austin-area product who saw his recruitment boom late last season. The 6’6.5″ offensive tackle has offers from 29 schools such as Alabama, Ohio State and Texas, however he announced his commitment to Clemson in June. As mentioned previously, the Vandegrift offensive line, led by Reed, did a solid job of keeping Buchanan upright behind the line of scrimmage and will look to power the Vipers through the playoffs in a few weeks.
Miles:
34
