History was made last night at Joan Ford Stadium in Ragland as for the first time ever, the Victory Christian Lions defeated the Purple Devils in a varsity football game.

After seven tries, including some lopsided defeats, Scotty Smith’s Lions took it to Ragland beating them 34-20.

Not only did they score 34 points, they controlled the tempo of the game with a balanced attack on offense. For the night, the Lions rushed for 181 yards, passed for another 150 for a total of 331 yards. Cody Ramsey added an electrifying 77-yard second half kick-off return as well. The Lions were determined not to go down in defeat to Ragland for an eighth consecutive time.

Following a Ragland punt to start the game, Victory Christian drove 55 yards in six plays with the touchdown coming on a 5-yard run by Zachery Johnston, who also had an 18-yard run to move the ball to the 5. The PAT by Jonathan Hennessy was blocked but with 7:34 remaining in the first quarter, the Lions were on top 6-0.

Following another Ragland punt, the Lions set up shop on their own 31. Two plays later, Ragland’s Austin Thornton intercepted a Michael Kirby pass and the Purple Devils took advantage. Two plays later, Colton Echols scored on a 31-yard run. The PAT by Landon Bice was no good and the game was tied 6-6 with 3:01 left in the opening quarter.

The Lions drove from their own 32 to the Purple Devil 36 but they turned the ball over on downs. Six plays later, Ragland had moved the ball from its own 36 to the Lion 28 but a John Arnold pass into the end zone intended for Caleb Crews was intercepted by William Wood Jr.

Victory Christian then drove 80 yards in eight plays to regain the lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The touchdown came on a 23-yard pass from Kirby to Johnston. The fake extra point was no good and the score was 12-6 halfway through the second stanza.

Ragland was able to move the ball from 20 to 20, but were unable to get into the end zone. On their next possession, they moved the ball from their own 20 to the Lion 27 where they turned the ball over on downs.

With the clock winding down in the first half, Victory Christian drove 73 yards in eight plays to pad its lead. Kirby connected on pass plays of 15 yards to Jordan Grimmer, 13 and 22 yards to Alexander Jernigan and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ramsey with 25 seconds remaining before halftime. The two-point conversion was good as Kirby found Grimmer to make the halftime score 20-6.

Ramsey then turned on the afterburners to start the second half as he raced 77 yards with the second half kick-off. Hennessy added the PAT to make it 27-6 just 13 seconds into the third quarter.

The kick-off return apparently woke up a sluggish Ragland offense. The next two drives were for 65 and 51 yards as they scored twice to close the gap to 26-20 much to the delight of the home crowd.

First, quarterback Keshawn Killings hooked up with Scotty Smith for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 7:23 remaining in the third quarter. The PAT by Landon Bice was good to make it 27-13.

Following a Lion punt, the Purple Devils drove 51 yards in five plays and were aided by a personal foul by Victory Christian. The touchdown came on an 11-yard run by Nicholas Daniels. Bice’s PAT was good and it was a ballgame at 27-20.

The Lions did not panic as they drove 61 yards in four plays to put a little more distance between them and the Purple Devils. Kirby found Grimmer for a 20-yard gain, then ran for 27 yards and then Ramsey found the end zone from 14 yards out. Hennessey’s extra point was good to make the score 34-20 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter. There was no scoring in the fourth quarter as the Lions prevailed to get that first win ever over Ragland.

“We are just so happy,” said Victory Christina coach Scotty Smith. “Ragland did a very good job. They are tough and have a good running game. They never quit. After we got up on them in the first half and then with the second half kick-off return by Ramsay, they scored two quick touchdowns on us.”

Smith said the second half kick-off return was huge.

“We’ve been getting ahead and not having to play from behind is huge,” Smith said. “We’ve got Jacksonville Christian at home next week and it is our first home game of the season. Two years ago, our guys came here to Ragland and got beat 61-0. To come back and beat that same team 34-20 says a lot for them and their determination. I’m just very proud of or guys.”

Victory Christian is 2-0, 1-0 in the region while Ragland falls to 0-2, 0-1 in the region. Next week, the Purple Devils travel to Jefferson Christian.