Vigor’s defense stopped everything Williamson threw at them Friday night in a tough 12-0, Class 5A, Region 1 win for the Wolfpack at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

“Defense wins championships,” said Vigor coach Markus Cook.

“First of all, offensively we played horrible. But we’re going to correct the penalties, because they hurt us badly.”

Vigor was flagged eight times for 73 penalty yards as the unbeaten Wolves (4-0, 3-0 in region play) shut themselves down just about as much as their defense did Williamson’s offense, dropping the Lions to 2-2 (2-1 in region).

In between the mistake-filled tug-of-war, Carlos Benjamin ran in from a yard out and cornerback Brandon Purifoy stripped the ball away from Williamson quarterback Johnathan Johnson at the Vigor 5 and returned it 95 yards to the house on the last play of the first half.

Video replays on the Mobile County Public School System telecast showed Purifoy’s knee was clearly down as he wrestled the ball away from Johnson, but the play stood.

Other than those two plays, Williamson’s defense didn’t play badly itself and gave the Lions offense chance after chance that they just couldn’t take advantage of.

“Defensively we played lights out,” said hoarse Williamson coach Antonio Coleman afterwards. “Offensively, we laid an egg. We ain’t going to win ball games like that. Everything came apart offensively tonight and we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and fix it.”

Play of the Game: Vigor’s defense actually made three stellar stands … slamming the door shut on the Lions offense from point-blank scoring range on first-and-goal from the 9, and then again after Vigor miscues set up Williamson with first downs at the 28 and 31.

By The Numbers: 33 — Number of times each school has met; 24 — Number of Vigor wins in that span of games; 81 — Yards the Lions limited the mercurial Benjamin to after his lightning performances in the four previous games; 2 — Interceptions by Vigor defensive back Brandon Coats on Johnson’s first two pass attempts of the night; 15 — Tackles by Purifoy.

Game ball: Who else? The Vigor defense.

They Said It: “We’ve got to get more in shape and be more physical at the ball. We learned that if we keep working together, we can be a great defensively.” – Vigor middle linebacker Ji Lang.

“In practice, we’ve got to take things more seriously. We’ve got to work harder and continue to be disciplined.” — Defensive back Brandon Coats

Next week: Vigor and the Lions both continue region play in critical early-season matchups on their home fields next week when the Wolves host UMS-Wright and Williamson entertains B.C. Rain.