On an emotional night at Vigor, Carlos Benjamin rushed for three touchdowns to lead unranked Vigor to a dominant 31-9 Class 5A win over No. 9 UMS-Wright on Friday night.

It was a tough week for the Wolves, who lost longtime volunteer coach Brian Williams earlier this week. Williams, 62, had a long battle with liver disease.

He died Monday night.

“This game was truly about him,” Vigor coach Markus Cook said. “We had the funeral today about 12. We had about 45 players there. Brian sacrificed for me. He was my offensive line coach when I was in high school. He was my guy. I told the family we were going to go out tonight and put on a show. We played physical football the way ‘BW’ would have wanted it.”

Benjamin set the tone for Wolves (5-0, 4-0), taking the first play from scrimmage 80 yards for the early score. He finished with 217 yards on 17 carries, including scoring on runs of 80, 1 and 53 yards.

UMS (2-3, 1-2) responded when Joe Lott scored on the Bulldogs’ first play, a 57-yard quarterback keeper. But Vigor’s defense proved to be too much the rest of the way.

The Wolves defense held the Bulldogs to one first down and 31 yards total offense in the second half.

“Tonight we wanted to come out defensively and show how good Vigor really is, and I think we proved it tonight,” Mississippi Valley State commit Brandon Purifoy said.

Lott passed for 45 yards and rushed for 68 yards for UMS-Wright.

“Joe hit us on that long run early on, but after that we were able to play clean ball and do the small things for victory,” Cook said.

The Wolves rushed for five touchdowns.

“Offensive line was very dominant and very physical, and that is what we do, run the ball, block well,” Cook said.

Star of the game: Benjamin rushed for 122 yards in the first half and 95 in the third quarter. He didn’t have a carry in the fourth quarter with the Wolves up by 22.

Play of the game: After Vigor held UMS to a three-and-out on their opening drive of the second half, DeArrius Washington’s 37-yard run capped an 8-play 82-yard drive. Washington’s third down run straight up the middle put the Wolves up 24-9.

Stat sheet: Wolves quarterback Jerrian Graham, a South Alabama commit, passed for 63 yards and added 28 yards on the ground, including a 3-yard rushing score. Jake Jaye rushed for 31 yards for UMS- Wright.

By the numbers: (2007) The last time UMS lost back-to-back regular-season games. (10) rushing touchdowns on the season for Benjamin. (22) The Bulldogs’ largest defeat since losing by 28 to St. Paul’s in 2014.

Did you know? Vigor has won four state championships — 1987, 88, 2008, and most recently 2021. Vigor honored their championship teams during a halftime ceremony.

Coachspeak: ”Tonight, we were locked in and focused. The sky’s the limit with this team when we do that each week.” — Cook.

They said it: “This win was for coach Williams tonight.” — Purifoy

Next week: Both teams are idle. Vigor plays at Faith Academy on Oct. 6, while UMS-Wright hosts Elberta.