With Captain Shreve threatening to take an early lead, the Airline Vikings defense dug in on a fourth-and-goal at their half-yard line.
The Vikings made the stop and the offense drove 99 and a half yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
Airline led 17-6 at the half and then pulled away in the second for a 40-13 victory in a District 1-5A opener Friday at Lee Hedges Stadium.
The Vikings improved to 5-1 overall, while Shreve dropped to 3-3.
Airline actually stopped Shreve on two plays inside the 1 in their early goalline stand.
“That was a huge swing in the game right there,” Airline coach Bo Meeks said.
Matt Hanisee kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Vikings the 17-6 halftime lead.
A Kevin James interception set up a third quarter touchdown and the Vikings got a safety to go up 24-6 when a bad snap on a Shreve punt went out of the end zone.
One thing that pleased Meeks is that the Vikings didn’t turn the ball over after turning it over six times in a loss to Neville in Week 5.
“Overall it was a good night,” he said. “There are still some things we can correct, but I was pleased with the effort. Shreve came ready to play. They played a physical game, played hard. But it was a big win. Any win is a good win, especially a district win.”
Airline senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand was effective, completing 14 of 27 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown to Trey Turner.
He also ran the ball seven times for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Roderick Spurlock rushed for 75 yards on seven carries. He scored touchdowns on runs of 3 and 44 yards. Michael Nunnery gained 48 yards on 10 carries and scored on a 13-yard run.
Laterious Pouncy caught three passes for 113 yards, and Turner had four catches for 74 yards.
