The Spartans held on and beat Oakwood 20-19 at Niswonger Field in a Southwestern Buckeye League matchup that lived up to the billing.
Senior receiver Anthony Valenti scored all three of Valley View’s touchdowns, including a 40-yard run early in the fourth quarter that gave the squad a 20-13 lead. He also was covering Devine during the climatic two-point conversion try.
“Going into the locker room at halftime (trailing 7-6), we knew we could play better than what we were doing,” Valenti said. “I think our guys just stepped it up in the second half. It wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win for us.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Valley View (5-1, 3-0 SWBL Buckeye) has won five straight since opening the season with a 49-48 overtime loss to Coldwater.
“These guys play hard,” Valley View coach Matt King said. “We’ve had some different things this year with injuries and other things. They’ve done a great job with it this year.”
The Spartans had won their previous two games in lopsided fashion but had to battle against the upstart Lumberjacks.
Valenti broke free on a 40-yard TD run up the middle with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter to give the squad a seven-point lead.
“I got out there, I saw my guys in front of me. They laid great blocks, and all I had to do is run straight,” Valenti said.
Oakwood and Valley View each turned it over on downs deep in each other’s territory. The Lumberjacks then drove down the field on a series of short gains and crept up to the goal line.
It took three tries, but Devine broke through a mass of players on a run up the middle on a third-and-one with 2:42 left to cut the gap to one point.
A bad snap on an extra-point attempt after their previous touchdown had cost the Lumberjacks the lead and resulted in the game staying tied 13-13.
Oakwood tried for a two-point conversion this time. After a Valley View timeout, senior quarterback Zach Lutz, who entered the game leading the SWBL in passing yards, took a few steps back and threw a short pass over the middle to Devine.
He leapt to try and catch it, but it just went over his left hand.
“We didn’t really execute what I wanted to do, but it ended up working out,” King said. “We tried to make them make a tough play. They went for it, and that was a tough call on their part.”
The Lumberjacks didn’t recover an onside kickoff, and Valley View ran out the clock.
It was the first loss for Oakwood (5-1, 2-1). The Lumberjacks hadn’t started 5-0 since 2007; this year’s start is the best since a 4-2 start in 2008, which was the last time they had a record above .500.
“We saw good, physical play tonight. We wanted that out of our kids,” Oakwood coach Jay Lane, who is in his second season, said. “We told them we were going to get after the opportunity to win when it presented itself. The two-point conversion didn’t quite connect, but we were putting the ball in one of our best player’s hands coming out of our quarterback’s hands.
“Our tackling was a little suspect tonight, and we had a couple penalties we don’t typically have. I don’t like moral victories. I like wins. We had our opportunity tonight. We have to play a little bit better to beat a team like Valley View.”
The Spartans are tied atop SWBL Buckeye Division standings with Brookville (6-0); the teams are scheduled to face off in Week 9 at Niswonger Field.
But the next step toward a league title for Valley View is Madison (1-5), which they are scheduled to travel to in Week 7.
“We’ve just got to play our game,” Valenti said. “We can’t worry about what’s going on on the other side of the ball. If we execute, we play well, we can beat anyone we go up against.”
The Lumberjacks are scheduled to host Brookville in Week 7.
Oakwood led 7-6 at halftime. Both squads quickly scored in the second half.
The Spartans went on a lengthy drive to open the quarter and capped it when Valenti hauled in a 12-yard TD reception from junior QB Brody Gibbs with 7:09 left to give the squad a 13-6 lead.
Valenti’s three touchdowns matched the total he had in the squad’s first five games. King said he’s proud of Valenti, who was a first team all-SWBL selection last year.
“He’s a great player. He’s our guy,” King said. “You don’t have to watch film to know he’s a really good player. Offensively, defensively and special teams. He’s a great kid and he plays incredibly hard. It’s awesome.”
The Lumberjacks scored soon after on a 62-yard TD reception by Michael Woeste. But a bad snap doomed the extra-point attempt, resulting in a 13-13 tie with 7:05 left.
Valley View turned it over on downs deep in Oakwood territory. The Lumberjacks then did the same with about 90 seconds left in the quarter.
Each squad punted on their first possession in the first half, then Oakwood turned it over on downs near Valley View’s 30-yard line. The Spartans drove and scored on a 36-yard TD reception by Valenti with 1:58 left in the first quarter, but Oakwood blocked the extra point to keep the lead 6-0.
The Lumberjacks punted early in the second. Valley View turned it over on downs, then Oakwood quickly scored on a 48-yard TD reception by Urban Kummerer to take a 7-6 lead with 4:30 left after a successful extra-point attempt.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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