WHEELERSBURG — A pair of unanswered touchdowns by Wheelersburg's Brandon Schankweiler in the first five minutes of play gave the Pirates an early lead in a game they never trailed, defeating Villa Angela St. Joe 45-21 on Saturday in Wheelersburg.

Schankweiler wasted no time scoring, taking the game's opening kick back 82 yards for a 7-0 lead.

"I didn't really do much at all really," Schankweiler said. "I think anybody on our team could have done what I did tonight on that first play. I saw the endzone as soon as I got the ball. That's a credit to all the kick returners and all the people blocking for me."

Schankweiler, who scored four touchdowns total, scored again at the 7:36 mark. Still in the first quarter, Tyler Craigmiles scored on a two-yard run with 39 seconds left in the quarter and Tyler Lang took an interception all the way back for a touchdown eight seconds later.

Lang recovered a fumble to end the Vikings’ next possession. Four plays later Caleb Leach kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 31-7 lead.

Leach was 6-for-6 on extra points as well.

"We were able to put up a quick 31 points there," Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said. "We had some big plays offensively and defensively that gave us those points... This win is all on the kids. They made big plays in big situations when they needed to be made. They did a tremendous job."

The Vikings were able to push back, scoring two unanswered touchdowns of their own while holding the Pirates scoreless from the 10:31 mark in the second quarter until the four minute mark of the fourth quarter to make the score 31-21.

"There was no time to relax throughout this ballgame," Woodward said. "As you can see, they can move the ball down the field so easily... They were just bringing the ball right at us every single time."

The game ended similar to the way it began, with a pair of Schankweiler touchdowns. Schankweiler scored on an 18-yard run with four minutes to play and took home the final touchdown just seconds later on a 37-yard interception return.

"Our assistant coaches worked all week on preparing these kids for what they could expect from this explosive, explosive football team," Woodward said. "They had a number of big playmakers but our guys were able to step up."

JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Box Score available in Sunday's print edition of the Portsmouth Daily Times.