Thursday night marked the official start of the 2011 Viper football season, when the Vipers took on the Lanier Vikings at Nelson Field, resulting in a 44-7 victory. An eager and energetic crowd showed up to watch Vandegrift take the field for the first time with a senior class.

“I went to the game because they are fun and I like to support our school,” senior Andrew Locascio said. “It was impressive to see the support at the first game; it is our first year with seniors and it is going to be really exciting.”

“The level of leadership out on the field has increased now that we have seniors, because this is our final dance,” senior kicker Keller Wylie said.

The Vipers started strong as junior Travis Eldred blocked Lanier’s punt, putting the first points of the game up on the board with a safety.

“We were confident about the game from the start,” junior wide receiver Dylan Hosek said. “We started off a little slow in the beginning but we got it together around the second half and really started playing as a team.”

Vandegrift continued with that momentum, ending the first half with a 23-0 lead. Although the field had been littered with penalty flags, the Vipers’ spirit and valiant effort held strong.

“Our offensive line is strong and big; minus the team penalties, we played an amazing second half,” senior quarterback Dakota Prukop said.

Senior Yuron Shears finished the game with 4 touchdowns and Mark Giles with 6 catches, including a diving touchdown, leading the team to their first victory of the 2011 season.

This week, the Vipers will focus on preparing for their game against Taylor on Friday at Taylor.

“There is a lot of experience that comes from game one to game two. We have to be a little more disciplined; we probably got some penalties we shouldn’t have. We expect to make the playoffs, and good coaches and good teams just take it one game at a time,” Head Coach Drew Sanders said. “All we know is that we have the Taylor Ducks coming up, and so, we are going to get after the Ducks.”