UNIONVILLE — The Community Vikings used a strong second quarter to stay close with the Giles County Bobcats at the half, but it was all Bobcats in the second half as the Vikings fell 50-8 in a Region 4-3A football contest Friday night.
Community (1-3, 0-1) took the opening kickoff and ran for one first down on its opening drive before being forced to punt. 
The Bobcats took advantage of a Viking fumble on the punt and returned the ball 10 yards for the opening score of the game. 
The extra point by Chase Cardin gave Giles County a 7-0 lead with 7:43 remaining in the opening quarter.
After a punt on the second Viking possession, the Bobcats took over with good field possession at the Community 38-yard line. 
Giles County quickly found the end zone on a 2-play drive as quarterback Kamauri Turner scampered six yards for the touchdown.  A run for two by Ethan Ehrhardt gave the Bobcats a 15-0 lead with 1:40 left.
The Community defense and a late scoring drive were the highlights as the Vikings gained momentum in the second quarter.
With the Bobcats driving early in the quarter, the Vikings came up big on fourth down as a tackle by Jordan Land stopped the Giles County drive at the Community 27.
The Viking offense started to connect as a 40-yard pass from Cole Crockett to Maki Fleming moved the ball to the Bobcat 27-yard line. 
The drive stalled as the Vikings could not convert on fourth down.
Once again, the Viking defense came up big as an interception gave Community the ball at its own 44.  But a fumbled punt gave the Bobcats good field position and Giles County took advantage as Turner scored on an 18-yard run to increase the Bobcat lead to 22-0 with 2:28 left.
With Cardin's kicks going into the end zone for touchbacks on all but one kickoff on the night, the Vikings started the ensuing drive on their 20. 
An eight-yard run by Ramon Hernandez followed by a 12-yard run by Fleming gave Community a first down on the drive. 
Consecutive pass interference penalties by the Bobcats gave the Vikings two more first downs and advanced the ball to the Bobcat 32-yard line.
A 34-yard pass play from Crockett to Fleming moved the ball to the Giles County 1-yard line with seven seconds remaining. 
Fleming finished the drive with a run for the touchdown to put Community on the scoreboard. 
Fleming's run for two cut the Bobcat lead to 22-8 with two seconds left.
After the Vikings recovered the onside kick, Community had one more chance to score, but a long pass narrowly missed the mark as the half came to a close.
"We wanted to win the second quarter, and the defense had a big part in that," Coach Luke Bowling of the Vikings said. "They were able to get some big stops and get the ball back to the offense."
The speed of the Bobcats took over in the second half as three third quarter touchdowns increased the Giles County lead to 43-8. 
The Bobcats added a touchdown in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring on the night.
The Vikings were forced to do some maneuvering on offense with starting quarterback Dallas Grooms unable to play.
"Credit to Maki and credit to Cole. They didn't complain and didn't drop their heads," Bowling said.     
"They practiced hard this week. That's a steep mountain to climb when you lose your senior quarterback that knows the offense."
Community will travel to Cascade to take on the Champions in the Battle of Bedford Friday night at 7 p.m.                  
    
 
Giles Co.        15  7 21  7 — 50  
Community    0  8   0  0 — 8
              
First Quarter
GC – 10-yard fumble return, (Chase Cardin kick), 7:43.
GC – Kamauri Turner 6 run, (Ethan Ehrhardt run), 1:40.
 
Second Quarter
GC – Turner 18 run, (Cardin kick), 2:28.
C – Maki Fleming 1 run, (Fleming run), 0:02.
 
Third Quarter
GC – Turner 24 run, (Cardin kick), 10:05.
GC – X Randolph 3 run, (Cardin kick), 7:02.
GC – Randolph 63 run, (Cardin kick), 1:28.
 
Fourth Quarter
GC – Maddox Goode 1 run, (Cooper White kick), 8:17.