If one had only one word to use in describing Matt Vines’ job on the Northern Lebanon defense it would be ‘espionage’. If one could use only one word to characterize Vines’ position with the Vikings, it would be ‘spy’.
You see Vines does his best work behind enemy lines.
Vines, a junior two-way down lineman, is also in charge of terrorism, mayhem and disruptions for Northern Lebanon. His philosophy is to ‘blow up a play, before it gets underway’.
On Friday night at Ephrata’s War Memorial Field, Vines was all over the place for the Vikings’ defense during their 47-6 triumph over the hometown Mounts. But mainly, he lived in Ephrata’s backfield.
Employing a rare combination of speed, strength and quickness, the Vines-led Northern Lebanon defense yielded a mere 128 yards of total offense, and a paltry 64 rushing yards. The Viking ‘D’ forced six fumbles, caused ten ‘three-and-outs’ and recorded 17 tackles-for-loss, many of which Vines was in on.
The defense is a big reason why Northern Lebanon is off to a 3-1 start and eyeing a possible Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championship.
But Vines, the reigning Lebanon County 220-pound wrestling champ, is also a key contributor to the Northern Lebanon offense, consistently opening holes in opponents’ defenses from his left guard spot.
– Jeff Falk