VILSECK, Germany — Vilseck bounced back from a two- touchdown deficit and defeated Ramstein 21-14 in a Division I football game Saturday.
Angelo Anderson ran in a 2-point conversion after a short TD run by Andrew Fezelle to give Vilseck a 15-14 lead with about six minutes remaining.
Fezelle then iced the game with about one minute left by rushing three yards for his second touchdown.
Ramstein (1-1), the two-time defending D-I champ, jumped to a 14-0 lead on first-quarter touchdown runs by Mike Wallace and Evan Canfield.
The Royals retained the momentum in the second quarter, with Wallace and Canfield picking up big yardage on the ground and the defense intercepting Falcon quarterback Tyler Hall twice. Canfield, who was injured in the third quarter, finished the game with 101 yards on 10 carries.
But Ramstein could not pad its lead, and in the second half Vilseck, elevated to Division I this year, began moving the ball. Niko Carr led the way with 109 yards on 21 carries.
Anderson was effective running sweeps behind fullback Fezelle. The runs set up a 17-yard scoring pass from Hall to Jamal Grant-Sadler, who grabbed the ball just inside the end zone and held on after a hard hit that sent him into a somersault.
Vilseck (2-0) continued to move the ball on the ground in the fourth quarter, and sent the crowd into a frenzy when Anderson returned a punt for a TD — only to have it nullified by a penalty.
But on its next possession, following one of Ramstein’s four lost fumbles, Vilseck again drove into Royals territory, scoring on a 4-yard run by Fezelle and setting the stage for the decisive conversion. Instead of sending the kicking unit onto the field to go for a tie, the Falcons sent Anderson wide around end for two points and the lead.
In the final minutes Vilseck got the ball again when Phillip Manning forced a fumble and Carr pounced on it at the Ramstein 27. Fezelle scored from 6 yards out with 1:10 left, but when Vilseck missed the conversion Ramstein remained alive.
Ramstein quarterback Thomas Barton, threw a series of desperate passes that failed to find their marks, and when time ran out the home crowd celebrated Vilseck’s second home victory over a Division I foe.
Vilseck’s defense was led by Angelo Hall’s 11 tackles and one sack, Fezelle’s 10 tackles and Carr’s six tackles and fumble recovery.
