Whether it be locally or on the statewide level, the Villa Angela-St. Joseph football team feels they’re being overlooked and no one is talking about them.

That might be changing very soon.

With a 59-10 win over host Gilmour on Oct. 10, the Vikings improved to 6-1 this season, the lone blemish coming via a 27-20 loss to Cardinal Mooney in Week 2. Since then, VASJ has won five in a row, averaged 51.2 points over that span and scored 50 or more points in three straight games.

If no one else is talking about the Vikings, they’re going to let their play do the talking — or screaming — for them.

“I don’t mean disrespect to the media,” Coach Jeff Rotsky said, “but very few people say much about our program this year — and that’s OK.”

But it DOES stick in the Vikings’ craw, motivates them and — well — you see what happens on Friday nights.

“We should be talked about more,” senior Savion Lewis said. “We’re one of the best teams in Division III. We don’t let it get in the way. We just let our game tell everybody what we are.”

Eight different Vikings found the end zone for VASJ, and Joe Efford threw a trio of touchdown passes to lead VASJ to the victory. After an Evan Saline 36-yard field goal cut VASJ’s early 6-0 lead in half, it was all Vikings from then on out. Following Saline’s field goal, VASJ answered with a drive that ended with a Raymier Kirby nine-yard touchdown run. The next three VASJ drives ended in Efford touchdown passes — 70 yards to Lewis, 44 yards to Jamir Martemus and a four-yard jump-ball to 6-foot-5 tight end D’Angelo White with less than a minute to go in the half.

“To me, we’ve got some of the best skill in Northeastern Ohio,” Lewis said. “When we spread the ball around like that, we’re unstoppable.”

His team down, 34-3, at the half, it was a point Gilmour coach Joey Bates wasn’t about to argue.

“They’re very talented,” Bates said. “They’re well-coached. Coach Rotsky does a great job. They’ve got a really good thing going for them right now.”

The VASJ onslaught continued in the second half, with T.J. Moore scoring his second touchdown of the night (he also had the first) on a three-yard run and Ronnie Taylor scoring on an 18-yard run to make it 47-3.

VASJ’s 41-point run was snapped when C.J. Santagata ran in from 30 yards out in the fourth quarter, but the feel-good stuff ended quickly when Dylan Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings tacked on one last score late, with Leonte Wright going in to closer out the scoring.

With the loss, Gilmour fell to 3-5 this season.

“I think it boils down to two things — we’ve got to block better and tackle better,” Bates said. “Football is a simple game — you’ve got to tackle the best you can and block the best you can. If you still come up short, it wasn’t meant to be on that night, but we just didn’t tackle or block well enough tonight.”

Compounding Gilmour’s woes was quarterback Sean Pitrone exiting the game and spending the rest of the night with his shoulder in a sling.

While Gilmour plays Rhodes next week, VASJ plays Benedictine with the hopes of continuing a strong season that might get people talking — at least more than they have to this point.

“I feel like we’re a challenging team to defend if we play clean football,” Rotsky said. “We’re pretty blessed … we’re pretty blessed.”

THE SCORE

VASJ 59, Gilmour 10