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LUCASVILLE — Earlier this season against Portsmouth, Valley’s Jaylen Bender missed a game-tying field goal at the buzzer.
It’s not often that scenario comes around again. But it did on Friday, and he was ready for the moment.
Tied at 35-35 with three seconds left, Bender lined up for a 47-yard field goal and drilled it through the uprights, giving his Indians a 38-35 victory over Northwest.
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
“I knew it was going in once I got back there and lined everything up,” Bender said. “Across the board, I’m proud of our execution and we did what we needed to do. More importantly though, we thank God for just giving us the opportunity to play the game.”
The win marked the first of the season for the Indians.
“We’ve had a rough go this season starting 0-5, but we made it a point to turn things around and it started with the run game,” Valley’s Tristan Wood said. “Our coaches did a great job making sure we had our game plan in check and the offensive line, we were on point, giving guys the time to make the right read and opening holes for guys to score.”
Two plays in, Valley (1-5, 1-2 SOC II) was off and running.
Aidan Waughtel fired a pass deep down the field and connected with Braxten Conaway for a 55-yard touchdown, putting the Indians ahead 7-0.
However, as ready as Valley seemed to be, it had no answer for stopping Northwest’s Carter Runyon.
After recovering an Indian fumble, Runyon cashed in and scored on a six-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
The Mohawks’ defense forced another fumble and recovered, making way for Runyon to again found the end zone on a five-yard run, making it 14-7.
But just before halftime, Valley answered as Waughtel scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to force a 14-14 tie at the break.
As the second half began, the Runyon show continued.
Needing only two plays, he went 39 yards for his third touchdown of the night, putting his Mohawks back in front, 21-14.
Yet, Valley responded when Waughtel found Conaway again for an 18-yard strike, tying the game at 21-21.
Both teams traded two more touchdown drives.
Runyon scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 71-yard scamper and Jake Brown found the end zone on a nine-yard run. Meanwhile, Valley scored on a one-yard plunge from Zach Whitt and a three-yard score from Anthony Aaron, knotting the game at 35-35.
“We just kept pounding the ball over and over again,” Aaron said. “We’ve been really struggling over the past couple of games, but the guys up front did a great job and we kept fighting.”
That set the stage for a final drive for the Mohawks, but the Indians’ defense rose to the occasion and made a huge fourth down stop to regain possession with less than two minutes left.
Valley drove methodically down the field, getting to the NW 30-yard line with three seconds left. That set the stage for Bender to line up his shot and, with a perfect snap and hold, he buried it to secure the win for the Indians.
“Most of our play calls on that final drive were passes towards the sidelines to get out of bounds and preserve some time,” Wood said. “Jaylen may or may not have made school history again with that kick, but we were doing our best to kill as much time as possible and it worked out.”
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
Statistically, Runyon led Northwest with a 27-carry, 275-yard, four-touchdown evening. Colton Campbell also chipped in with 25 carries for 74 yards.
For the Indians, Waughtel finished 12-of-19 passing for 178 yards and two scores. He also posted two touchdown runs. Conaway was his top target, bringing in five catches for 104 yards and both touchdowns and Aaron also helped out, finishing with 140 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
Valley returns to action on Friday at West, while Northwest welcomes Vinton County to town for non-conference play.
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