Patriots Triump Over Northeast

The Christ Prep Patriots scored three fourth quarter touchdowns and beat the Northeast (KC) Vikings 40-22 Saturday night at Shawnee Mission North field. Quarterback Darren Wallace rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Patriots (1-1).

CPA found itself down to the Vikings early as Northeast took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. However, the Patriots answered with two second quarter touchdowns (to Northeast's one) and went into the locker room tied 14-all at the half.

The Patriots and Vikings traded touchdowns in the third quarter but the Vikings' 2-point conversion put them in the lead 22-21 as the period closed.

The Patriot offense got going in the 4th quarter as Wallace found wide receiver Demonta Bailey for a 10-yard touchdown strike early in the period. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Patriots led 29-22. Wallace and Lenard Manuel each scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter to finally put the game out of the Vikings' reach.

A key to the Patriots' success was the punishing rushing of Manuel as he amassed 126 yards rushing on 21 carries with two touchdowns. Manuel advanced the ball on several long runs and had a 30+ yard touchdown called back due to penalty. The Vikings couldn't seem to produce an answer for Manuel and their focus on him opened up other phases of the offense.

CPA had a total of 205 yards rushing for the night. Darren Wallace contributed 62 yards on 16 carries. Wallace was 5-18 passing for 75 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Patriot defense turned in another outstanding performance with a balanced effort. Cornerback Davis Finley led Patriot tacklers with seven while Jesse Campbell and Andrew Langston contributed four each. Caleb Cox, Lenard Manuel, Jared Nield, and Michael Force each had three tackles for the Patriots. Cameron Wainscott had one interception and two tackles.

Northeast had a fairly balanced attack as it rushed for 100 yards and passed for 107. Both teams were penalized significantly. The Patriots had 11 penalties totaling 80 yards.

CPA takes its 1-1 record next Friday to the East High School field in Kansas City where the team will take on Central High School at 7:00 p.m.

Take a look at some of the photos from Saturday night's game. We'll try to add a few more before the end of the weekend.