DANVILLE — A newly renovated Ned Whitesell Field feature a brand-new FieldTurf surface and a state-of-the-art scoreboard greeted the Danville Vikings at the start of football season.
The anticipation and excitement were extremely high, but the results didn’t follow.
Danville suffered losses to Bloomington (41-14), Normal West (28-14) and Champaign Centennial (34-24). The Vikings had only one more chance to get that first victory.
Playing one of its most complete games of the season, Danville got that first home win of the season 44-26 over Peoria Richwoods on Senior Night at Ned Whitesell Field.
“It feels good to finally win on the new field and my last game on the field,’’ said Danville senior Diddy Robinson, who ran for three touchdowns in the contest. “Everyone played hard for senior night, no one wanted to lose our final game on the home field.
“We did a good job of flying around on both sides of the ball.’’
According to Danville senior lineman Jayden Cottrell, the win at Whitesell Field was “long overdue.”
“We should have gotten the first game of the season,’’ he said. “At least, it feels good to win on senior night.’’
Admittedly, the win for Cottrell had a extra special meaning.
“This was the team that I got hurt against during my sophomore season,’’ he said. “It was something that I was thinking about all week.’’
Two years ago on a wet and windy night in Peoria, Cottrell tore his ACL in a 58-7 win over the Richwoods Knights at Endress Field. He would miss the rest of his sophomore season and all of his junior season with the injury.
“It was very hard and I really went through some things coming off the ACL injury. It was a tough battle to get back on the field,’’ he said. “It was heartbreaking watching all of last season on the sidelines. I was there to cheer on my boys, but it wasn’t the same.
“God told me that I would be back and I’m back for my senior year.’’
Danville coach Marcus Forrest noted that seniors like Cottrell, Robinson, Darius Jay, Jerry Reed III, Tavion Diltz, Taeven Harris, Jeremy Etchison-Lock and Alex Doe did exactly what the Vikings have wanted to see them do all season on Friday night.
“The kids that we anticipated and counted on were the ones that made the plays,’’ Forrest said. “Darius made some good runs and good throws at quarterback. Jerry made some big catches and he had that interception return for a touchdown. And then there was Diddy, who seemingly made something out of nothing at times. When everything was able to fall apart, he was there to make a special play.
“They led the way that we expected them and wanted them to all year. It was real special to see how well they played.’’
Robinson’s most impressive touchdown run came in the third quarter.
He started running left, cut back to the right, making a couple of defenders miss, and then cut back left. He basically zig-zagged his way through all 11 Richwoods defenders on his way for a 37-yard touchdown.
“I just try to make a play every time I get the ball,’’ he said. “We had to step up tonight because we wanted to go out with a bang on our senior night.’’
It looked like it was going to be a short night for the Vikings (3-5) as they built a 24-0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs from Robinson and one from Jay.
But, the Knights (2-6) didn’t go away, scoring twice in the second quarter to pull within 24-14 at halftime.
“Every time, we get a lead, we start to let up,’’ Robinson said.
But, just like the win over Champaign Central on Oct. 4, Danville got things righted in the second half.
“We were able to start fast. We had a little lapse, but we came back together to finish strong,’’ Forrest said. “We almost put a whole game together. It took big plays from our seniors on senior night.’’
Reed put the finishing touches on the triumph with a 29-yard touchdown reception from Jay and a 93-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
Danville will finish its season this Friday at Dozer Park in Peoria against the Notre Dame Irish. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Danville 44, Peoria Richwoods 26
Richwoods 0 14 0 12 — 26
Danville 24 0 8 12 — 44
First quarter
Danville — Diddy Robinson 12-yard run (Robinson pass from Darius Jay), 11:01.
Danville — Jay 17-yard run (Jerry Reed III pass from Jay) 9:39.
Danville — Robinson 1-yard run (Jay run), 5:22.
Second quarter
Richwoods — Amarii Scurlock 3-yard run (kick failed), 10:47.
Richwoods — Bryce Hopkins 2-yard run (Hopkins run), 5:06.
Third quarter
Danville — Robinson 37-yard run (D’Mario Jackson pass from Jay), 1:40.
Fourth quarter
Danville — Reed III 29-yard pass from Jay (pass failed), 7:11.
Richwoods — Hopkins 3-yard run (run failed), 6:21.
Danville — Reed III 93-yard interception return (pass failed), 2:04.
Richwoods — Markeese Richardson 88-yard kickoff return (pass failed), 1:50.