lockard and prater both over a 100 would be great.,. also a lil passing for the vikes yea wellston by 21.
boiler don't be shy stop and say hi tonight..
WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
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X8XOHIOLEGENDX7X
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Old*rocket
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Prater will have a good night on offence,but trust me lockard is going to have his best rushing night yet.
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boilermaker
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WJfan4life
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ocho stinko
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Congrats Wellston! Like to hear details of the game. Who's next for the rockets?
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godsgeneral
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boilermaker
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Wellston kept the ball on the ground most of the night around 300 yards rushing for the Rockets. Lockard was a beast rushing for 200 on 29 carries 3 tds . Wellston limited VC to 147 total yards on the night. Pretty much what I figured just run the ball right at the Vikes nothing fancy ,and good defense.
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loyaldevilfan
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RocketAtHeart
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Way to go my alma mater, The Wellston Golden Rockets 
Keep believing in each other and things will keep moving forward.
GO Golden Rockets 
Keep believing in each other and things will keep moving forward.
GO Golden Rockets
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WJfan4life
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Good game Wellston. I think The Rockets are turning the corner and stepping up their football program.
It will be interesting to see how they fair against Gallia Academy. The Rockets could pick up some handy computer points in that one.
It will be interesting to see how they fair against Gallia Academy. The Rockets could pick up some handy computer points in that one.
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Keyser_sozeThrice
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
First things first before Gallipolis Ty Webb.....The Rockets must win at Athens who has won two straight, playing better and took it to Alexander last night. Anyway, here is the report from last night at C.H. Jones. Enjoy.
King, Lockard and Rockets crown Vikings
By PAUL BOGGS
Sports Editor
WELLSTON — Kevin King was indeed ‘King’ for the night, while Matt Lockard — sometimes single-handedly — locked down the Vinton County Vikings.
However, the two all-Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division selections were just part of a solid team win on Friday night by the Wellston Golden Rockets, which vanquished the visiting Vikings 24-8 at C.H. Jones Field in Wellston.
While the senior King was crowned as this year’s Wellston High School Homecoming king, he helped lead the way for the fellow senior Lockard, who rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.
Lockard also added a field goal and an extra-point kick, giving him 22 of the Rockets’ 24 points.
With the victory, which was the Rockets’ second straight following an on-the-field 15-game losing streak, Wellston improved to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in the TVC-Ohio.
In fact, prior to last week’s 28-13 victory at Belpre, the Rockets’ last win was over the visiting Vikings two years ago.
That was the regular-season finale that season, as Wellston won 20-9.
Hence, the eight points allowed on Friday was the least amount the Rockets have surrendered since a 21-7 win over Rock Hill two years ago.
Wellston scored in sequences of six, three, eight and seven points, before the Vikings took advantage of the Rockets’ lone turnover and averted the shutout with 3:16 remaining.
But the Rockets ran out the clock, and head coach Jason Mantell got the water cooler bath on a cool night in Wellston.
“We’ll take the win. It was a good win and I thought we played very well throughout,†said Mantell. “We would have liked the shutout, but guys (reporters), a one-point victory is as good as 24-8. So we’re happy.â€
Back-to-back victories have made those 15 straight losses feel like a long time ago.
As for losing streaks, the Vikings have dropped five in a row since a 39-19 win at Unioto in the season opener.
They have scored just one touchdown in each game since, combining for 30 points, while allowing at least 24.
Those numbers are not adding up to Viking victories, said Vinton County coach Nolan Yates.
“I’m not here to make excuses. We got beat tonight and Wellston played well. They are a pretty good football team,†said Yates. “They’ve gotten a lot better.â€
The No. 20 of Lockard, though, was called early and often.
He scored on runs of six, 40 and 35 yards, and all in a variety of forms.
His first touchdown was a short six-yard run, his second from 40 yards was one of reversing field and breaking tackles, and his third was a backwards lateral in which he took all the way down the left sideline.
His final trip to paydirt, with 10 minutes remaining, made it 24-0 as he tacked on the extra point.
“We set that play up with a lot of straight fullback dives with (Jaylen) Prater,†said Lockard. “I just got to the outside and was out there all by myself. I just caught the ball and took off.â€
Just 32 seconds into the second quarter, he drilled a 33-yard field goal that was right down the center with at least 10 yards to spare.
“That was a great kick and having a weapon like that is great to have,†said Mantell. “Anytime you can make a field goal from the 30-to-40 yard range in high school…He nailed that.â€
That made it 9-0, which proved to be all the points the Rockets would need.
Following the Vikings’ third possession of the game, and third straight three-and-out series, Lockard ripped off a 40-yard dash to cap a 10-play, 92-yard drive which put the Blue and Gold up 15-0 with six-and-a-half minutes left before halftime.
Lockard ran to the right at the outset of the play, then reversed his field, shedded a tackle or two, and received three excellent blocks on his way toward the sideline.
He finally escaped a jersey tackle en route to the end zone.
A Cody Wilkett two-point conversion pass to Ryan Darnell, which were the only points in which Lockard did not score, made it 17-0.
That was the score at halftime, as the Rockets simply dominated in time of possession and — for the most part — field position.
“Time of possession in the first half was really the indicator of the entire game,†said Yates. “They had the ball pretty much the whole first half. When we did have it, we had some things happen and we had some penalties that cost us.â€
At the half, Wellston held a 12-3 edge in first downs, ran 35 plays compared to the Vikings’ 16, and held a 161-38 advantage in total yards including a 153-31 margin on the ground.
Lockard was already at 120 yards on 17 carries in the first 24 minutes.
“We were getting a lot of holes early on,†said Lockard.
The Rockets’ three first-half scoring drives consisted of two 10-play marches sandwiched around a 12-play drive for the field goal.
After Vinton County’s initial three-and-out, Wellston went 57 yards and converted a pair of third-and-shorts, before Lockard took a toss sweep untouched for the final six yards.
It was the first of what turned out to be six-for-six on third-down conversions in the first half.
Only one was longer than three yards.
“Anytime you can convert on third down, that’s a big thing for all of us,†said Mantell. “With the backfield like we’ve got, we’re not worried about third downs. We can live with third-and-shorts. Tonight, we were fortunate to be in a lot of those situations as opposed to third-and-long.â€
The first two Wellston marches started near midfield, while the Vikings went three-and-out and only reached midfield on the third of those possessions.
The Vikings picked up a pair of first downs, and made it to the Rocket 45 on their final series of the first half.
But the drive stalled out, leaving the Vikings trailing 17-0 and with only one series of more than three plays.
The Maroon and White moved the ball much better in the second half, but didn’t have any points to show for it until recovering a Rocket fumble at the Wellston 16.
Four plays later, the Vikings finally found the end zone with 3:16 remaining.
Steven Thompson took the pigskin in from a yard out, and Andy Grillo connected with Joey Batey for the two-point conversion pass.
Still, it was too little too late by then for the Vikings.
Vinton County had forced a pair of Wellston punts, but an 11-play drive as far as the 21 and a 9-play march down to the five resulted in zero points.
An incomplete pass, and a Rocket sack of Grillo for a 16-yard loss from the six, gave the ball back to the hosts.
Vinton County’s only other possession of the second half resulted in a lost fumble at the Rocket 40.
Wellston turned that turnover into Lockard’s third touchdown — the 35-yarder to the left on what was officially ruled as a lateral.
“I thought our kids came back and fought and played pretty well in the second half. You saw a lot young guys getting their hands on the ball and we switched up our offense (from wishbone to spread) and it worked for us,†said Yates. “We were able to move the ball out of both sets, but it’s a matter of finishing drives. We dropped a pass in the end zone, we lose a fumble down here, and we have a crucial penalty on our first drive of the second half. If we finish drives, it’s a totally different ballgame in the second half.â€
For the game, the Rockets racked up 18 first downs to VC’s 11, and ran 61 plays from scrimmage.
All but four of those were rushes, as Wellston amassed 266 of its 274 total yards on the ground.
In addition to Lockard’s 179 on 27, freshman fullback Jaylen Prater chipped in 57 yards on 14 attempts.
Prater, a standout athlete in the lower levels of the Vinton County district, decided to transfer to Wellston in the summer.
This was his first meeting against the Vikings.
Vinton County collected 104 rushing yards, as Grillo gained 35 on 11 carries in addition to 50 yards passing.
He was 6-of-11 through the air, with three balls and 33 yards going to Brandon Grigsby.
The Vikings, which remain winless in the TVC-Ohio in two tries, return home next week and return to league play against Meigs.
Wellston, meanwhile, hits the road for its next three games — beginning at TVC-Ohio newcomer Athens next week.
sports@timesjournal.com
King, Lockard and Rockets crown Vikings
By PAUL BOGGS
Sports Editor
WELLSTON — Kevin King was indeed ‘King’ for the night, while Matt Lockard — sometimes single-handedly — locked down the Vinton County Vikings.
However, the two all-Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division selections were just part of a solid team win on Friday night by the Wellston Golden Rockets, which vanquished the visiting Vikings 24-8 at C.H. Jones Field in Wellston.
While the senior King was crowned as this year’s Wellston High School Homecoming king, he helped lead the way for the fellow senior Lockard, who rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.
Lockard also added a field goal and an extra-point kick, giving him 22 of the Rockets’ 24 points.
With the victory, which was the Rockets’ second straight following an on-the-field 15-game losing streak, Wellston improved to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in the TVC-Ohio.
In fact, prior to last week’s 28-13 victory at Belpre, the Rockets’ last win was over the visiting Vikings two years ago.
That was the regular-season finale that season, as Wellston won 20-9.
Hence, the eight points allowed on Friday was the least amount the Rockets have surrendered since a 21-7 win over Rock Hill two years ago.
Wellston scored in sequences of six, three, eight and seven points, before the Vikings took advantage of the Rockets’ lone turnover and averted the shutout with 3:16 remaining.
But the Rockets ran out the clock, and head coach Jason Mantell got the water cooler bath on a cool night in Wellston.
“We’ll take the win. It was a good win and I thought we played very well throughout,†said Mantell. “We would have liked the shutout, but guys (reporters), a one-point victory is as good as 24-8. So we’re happy.â€
Back-to-back victories have made those 15 straight losses feel like a long time ago.
As for losing streaks, the Vikings have dropped five in a row since a 39-19 win at Unioto in the season opener.
They have scored just one touchdown in each game since, combining for 30 points, while allowing at least 24.
Those numbers are not adding up to Viking victories, said Vinton County coach Nolan Yates.
“I’m not here to make excuses. We got beat tonight and Wellston played well. They are a pretty good football team,†said Yates. “They’ve gotten a lot better.â€
The No. 20 of Lockard, though, was called early and often.
He scored on runs of six, 40 and 35 yards, and all in a variety of forms.
His first touchdown was a short six-yard run, his second from 40 yards was one of reversing field and breaking tackles, and his third was a backwards lateral in which he took all the way down the left sideline.
His final trip to paydirt, with 10 minutes remaining, made it 24-0 as he tacked on the extra point.
“We set that play up with a lot of straight fullback dives with (Jaylen) Prater,†said Lockard. “I just got to the outside and was out there all by myself. I just caught the ball and took off.â€
Just 32 seconds into the second quarter, he drilled a 33-yard field goal that was right down the center with at least 10 yards to spare.
“That was a great kick and having a weapon like that is great to have,†said Mantell. “Anytime you can make a field goal from the 30-to-40 yard range in high school…He nailed that.â€
That made it 9-0, which proved to be all the points the Rockets would need.
Following the Vikings’ third possession of the game, and third straight three-and-out series, Lockard ripped off a 40-yard dash to cap a 10-play, 92-yard drive which put the Blue and Gold up 15-0 with six-and-a-half minutes left before halftime.
Lockard ran to the right at the outset of the play, then reversed his field, shedded a tackle or two, and received three excellent blocks on his way toward the sideline.
He finally escaped a jersey tackle en route to the end zone.
A Cody Wilkett two-point conversion pass to Ryan Darnell, which were the only points in which Lockard did not score, made it 17-0.
That was the score at halftime, as the Rockets simply dominated in time of possession and — for the most part — field position.
“Time of possession in the first half was really the indicator of the entire game,†said Yates. “They had the ball pretty much the whole first half. When we did have it, we had some things happen and we had some penalties that cost us.â€
At the half, Wellston held a 12-3 edge in first downs, ran 35 plays compared to the Vikings’ 16, and held a 161-38 advantage in total yards including a 153-31 margin on the ground.
Lockard was already at 120 yards on 17 carries in the first 24 minutes.
“We were getting a lot of holes early on,†said Lockard.
The Rockets’ three first-half scoring drives consisted of two 10-play marches sandwiched around a 12-play drive for the field goal.
After Vinton County’s initial three-and-out, Wellston went 57 yards and converted a pair of third-and-shorts, before Lockard took a toss sweep untouched for the final six yards.
It was the first of what turned out to be six-for-six on third-down conversions in the first half.
Only one was longer than three yards.
“Anytime you can convert on third down, that’s a big thing for all of us,†said Mantell. “With the backfield like we’ve got, we’re not worried about third downs. We can live with third-and-shorts. Tonight, we were fortunate to be in a lot of those situations as opposed to third-and-long.â€
The first two Wellston marches started near midfield, while the Vikings went three-and-out and only reached midfield on the third of those possessions.
The Vikings picked up a pair of first downs, and made it to the Rocket 45 on their final series of the first half.
But the drive stalled out, leaving the Vikings trailing 17-0 and with only one series of more than three plays.
The Maroon and White moved the ball much better in the second half, but didn’t have any points to show for it until recovering a Rocket fumble at the Wellston 16.
Four plays later, the Vikings finally found the end zone with 3:16 remaining.
Steven Thompson took the pigskin in from a yard out, and Andy Grillo connected with Joey Batey for the two-point conversion pass.
Still, it was too little too late by then for the Vikings.
Vinton County had forced a pair of Wellston punts, but an 11-play drive as far as the 21 and a 9-play march down to the five resulted in zero points.
An incomplete pass, and a Rocket sack of Grillo for a 16-yard loss from the six, gave the ball back to the hosts.
Vinton County’s only other possession of the second half resulted in a lost fumble at the Rocket 40.
Wellston turned that turnover into Lockard’s third touchdown — the 35-yarder to the left on what was officially ruled as a lateral.
“I thought our kids came back and fought and played pretty well in the second half. You saw a lot young guys getting their hands on the ball and we switched up our offense (from wishbone to spread) and it worked for us,†said Yates. “We were able to move the ball out of both sets, but it’s a matter of finishing drives. We dropped a pass in the end zone, we lose a fumble down here, and we have a crucial penalty on our first drive of the second half. If we finish drives, it’s a totally different ballgame in the second half.â€
For the game, the Rockets racked up 18 first downs to VC’s 11, and ran 61 plays from scrimmage.
All but four of those were rushes, as Wellston amassed 266 of its 274 total yards on the ground.
In addition to Lockard’s 179 on 27, freshman fullback Jaylen Prater chipped in 57 yards on 14 attempts.
Prater, a standout athlete in the lower levels of the Vinton County district, decided to transfer to Wellston in the summer.
This was his first meeting against the Vikings.
Vinton County collected 104 rushing yards, as Grillo gained 35 on 11 carries in addition to 50 yards passing.
He was 6-of-11 through the air, with three balls and 33 yards going to Brandon Grigsby.
The Vikings, which remain winless in the TVC-Ohio in two tries, return home next week and return to league play against Meigs.
Wellston, meanwhile, hits the road for its next three games — beginning at TVC-Ohio newcomer Athens next week.
sports@timesjournal.com
Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Keyser_soze78 wrote:First things first before Gallipolis Ty Webb.....The Rockets must win at Athens who has won two straight, playing better and took it to Alexander last night.
I stand corrected Keyser....good point. And you're right about Athens, they laid the wood to Alex last night in a game I thought would be closer than what it was.
By the way, good article...as usual.
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Keyser_sozeThrice
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Re: WK 6 Vinton County @ Wellston
Ty Webb....Thanks for the kinds words on the report. Here's the box score that I should've posted earlier with the story. Enjoy
* * *
Vinton Co. 0 0 0 8 — 8
Wellston 6 11 0 7 — 24
W — Matt Lockard, 6-yard run (kick failed), 6:25, 1st (6-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 33-yard field goal, 11:28, 2nd (9-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 40-yard run (Ryan Darnell pass from Cody Wilkett), 6:26, 2nd (17-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 35-yard run (Matt Lockard kick), 10:02, 4th (24-0 W)
VC — Steven Thompson, 1-yard run (Joey Batey pass from Andy Grillo), 3:16, 4th (24-8)
TEAM STATISTICS
VC W
First Downs 11 18
Scrimmage Plays 43 61
Rushing (No.-Yds) 32-104 57-266
Passing (Cmp.-Att.-Int.) 6-11-0 1-4-0
Passing Yards 50 8
Total Yards 154 274
Fumbles (No.-Lost) 1-1 2-1
Penalties (No.-Yds) 4-30 8-46
Punts (No.-Ave.) 3-29.3 2-22.5
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING
Vinton County: Andy Grillo 11-35, Anthony Bentley 4-22, Kyle Matteson 5-19, Joey Batey 5-14, Steven Thompson 5-13 TD, Adam Ward 2-1; Wellston: Matt Lockard 27-179 3TD, Jaylen Prater 14-57, Cody Wilkett 7-7, Chris Howison 5-13, Brad Miller 3-11, Team 1-(-1)
PASSING
Vinton County: Andy Grillo 6-11-0-50; Wellston: Cody Wilkett 1-4-0-8
RECEIVING
Vinton County: Brandon Grigsby 3-33, Steven Thompson 1-12, Joey Batey 1-4, Kyle Matteson 1-1; Wellston: Ryan Darnell 1-8
* * *
Vinton Co. 0 0 0 8 — 8
Wellston 6 11 0 7 — 24
W — Matt Lockard, 6-yard run (kick failed), 6:25, 1st (6-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 33-yard field goal, 11:28, 2nd (9-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 40-yard run (Ryan Darnell pass from Cody Wilkett), 6:26, 2nd (17-0 W)
W — Matt Lockard, 35-yard run (Matt Lockard kick), 10:02, 4th (24-0 W)
VC — Steven Thompson, 1-yard run (Joey Batey pass from Andy Grillo), 3:16, 4th (24-8)
TEAM STATISTICS
VC W
First Downs 11 18
Scrimmage Plays 43 61
Rushing (No.-Yds) 32-104 57-266
Passing (Cmp.-Att.-Int.) 6-11-0 1-4-0
Passing Yards 50 8
Total Yards 154 274
Fumbles (No.-Lost) 1-1 2-1
Penalties (No.-Yds) 4-30 8-46
Punts (No.-Ave.) 3-29.3 2-22.5
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING
Vinton County: Andy Grillo 11-35, Anthony Bentley 4-22, Kyle Matteson 5-19, Joey Batey 5-14, Steven Thompson 5-13 TD, Adam Ward 2-1; Wellston: Matt Lockard 27-179 3TD, Jaylen Prater 14-57, Cody Wilkett 7-7, Chris Howison 5-13, Brad Miller 3-11, Team 1-(-1)
PASSING
Vinton County: Andy Grillo 6-11-0-50; Wellston: Cody Wilkett 1-4-0-8
RECEIVING
Vinton County: Brandon Grigsby 3-33, Steven Thompson 1-12, Joey Batey 1-4, Kyle Matteson 1-1; Wellston: Ryan Darnell 1-8