'Special player' Long leads Tigers past Vanlue

NORTH BALTIMORE– Luke Long is a special player. That sentiment was echoed by North Baltimore coach Wade Ishmael following Friday's game. Long looked extremely comfortable running the Tigers' offense in North Baltimore's home opener, a 56-14 trouncing of Vanlue. North Baltimore coach Wade Ishmael was very complimentary of his young quarterback after his team's big win."Luke Long is a very special ball player," Ishmael said. "He showed everybody today. Whether he was throwing the ball or he was running. He's got it."Long, who was All-NWCC honorable mention as a freshman a year ago, ran the ball on the first play of the game, driving it 49 yards to the house to start things off. Long's 49-yard opening touchdown went with two additional rushing touchdowns, a 1-yard sneak and a 29-yard keeper to close out the first half, as the sophomore ran for 79 yards on the game. He compiled 112 passing yards as well, completing 8 of his 10 attempts and throwing two touchdowns. On the receiving end of both of Long's two TD throws was sophomore Gabe Patterson. Patterson's only two receptions were a 24-yard and a 6-yard score. Sophomore Bryce White also drove in a touchdown in the first half, a 2-yard run to cap off his 36-yard evening on the ground. In the second half, senior Braiden Solly took over under center, and take matters into his own hands for a 50-yard rushing touchdown. Solly caught two passes for 19 yards in the first half, and connected on all 8 of his extra-point tries as the Tigers' kicker. Sophomore Isaiah Hyden finished with 37 rushing yards and 20 passing yards. Senior Eli Smith grabbed two receptions for 19 yards, but made an impactful play late in the game as well. After the Wildcats second score with three minutes remaining, Smith received Vanlue's kick. Then, he took off. Smith broke seemingly a thousand tackles, sprinting down the right side of the field for a 53-yard kick return touchdown as the Tigers cruised to a big week-one victory. "Receiving corps did really good," Ishmael said. "We have pretty good depth at receiver, guys that are athletic enough to be on the field at all times. We've got a nice rotation, it keeps people fresh."The Wildcats struggled from the beginning of the game. Long's touchdown run on the first play seemed to take all the wind from Vanlue's sails almost immediately. The Wildcats' first three drives resulted in a turnover on downs, a fumble and a blocked punt. On their fourth drive, however, the Wildcats found some success running the ball up the middle with senior Bryce Wallen. After a lengthy drive, Wallen broke free for a 4-yard run up the middle to put the Wildcats on the board. Wallen finished the game with 53 yards on 11 carries, and was a bright spot for Vanlue. "He did a good job of running hard," Vanlue coach John Kloepfer said. "When you take out Saltzman for us with a knee injury, it hurts us bad. He's one of our best runners, but we just couldn't get into a flow.""Number six (Wallen), man, he runs hard," Ishmael said. "He runs hard. Number seven, too (Saltzman). Those kids were big, we saw it in film. If we wanna win this game, we've got to stop their big kids. They run hard and they run physical. Very good team, very good players, we told them hit 'em low and hit 'em hard."Senior back Landon Saltzman, who exited the game early with a lower leg injury, added 28 yards and 9 carries. Senior Greg Spears, who scored Vanlue's other touchdown late in the fourth, ended with 23 yards after his 8-yard score. The Wildcats didn't attempt a single pass in Friday's contest, and that will be coach John Kloepfer's gameplan for most nights. "We gotta work things in, you know," Kloepfer continued. "We've got a freshman center, a freshman quarterback. He's just gotta understand the game, this is his first game ever playing. We have just got to go with the lumps, hopefully it gets better. Yeah, we want to throw some, but all of our receivers graduated. We don't have any receivers that have come back, we have two guys playing receiver that have never played football. It's kind of hard."The win gives North Baltimore some much-needed momentum, as it heads into a Week 2 matchup with Hardin Northern at home. For the Wildcats, they have a meeting on the road against Millersport coming up next Friday. NB 21 21 7 7–56Vanlue 0 6 0 8–14First QuarterNB - Long 49 Run (Solly Kick)NB - Patterson 24 Pass from Long (Solly Kick)NB - Long 1 Run (Solly Kick)Second QuarterNB - Patterson 6 Pass from Long (Solly Kick)VAN - Wallen 4 Run (2-pt Failed)NB - Long 2 Run (Solly Kick)Third QuarterNB - Solly 50 Run (Solly Kick)Fourth Quarter VAN - Spears 8 Run (Hamilton 2-pt Run)NB - Smith 50 Kickoff Return (Solly Kick)