Derrick Parker
PDT Sports Contributor
Waverly – The rain never let up in Waverly Friday night. Neither did the Valley Indians, until they sent the second string in the game at the start of the 4th quarter. They celebrated a win with a 35-14 victory, with all of Waverly’s 14 coming in the final quarter.
Bryan Rolfe was sharp in the game despite a constant drizzle of rain and some gusty wind. He connected on 9-of-17 passes, and racked up 198 yards with three touchdown passes. Two 30-yard touchdown connections to Derek Burk showcased the chemistry between the two, but the 54-yard catch and run by Blake Howard showed Rolfe’s arm strength.
Howard ran the ball twice as well. But, as Coach Crabtree pointed out, the passing game and defense were the showcase of the night.
“We managed to come out and get an early lead,” Crabtree said. “Our defense and Rolfe both played really well tonight. We kept the wind at our backs, strived to get good field position and finished really strong in the third quarter.”
Waverly’s defense looked good at times, limiting Howard to just 15 yards on five carries on the night. But, they really struggled against the pass most of the night. The offense for Waverly became bogged down by Valley’s defense, with quarterback Howell completing just 3-of-15 passes for a total of 14 yards.
The first score of the game came on a Rolfe 30-yard pass to Burke. The second score for the Indians also came in the first quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run by Howard. In the 2nd quarter, Howard finished off a 40-Yard pass to Williams that ended up on the 1-yard line with a single yard scamper into the end zone. Valley finished the Tigers off in the third with two more Rolfe touchdown passes; one to Burk and another to Howard.
Valley now looks to next Friday, in a game against the Portsmouth West Senators in Lucasville. West managed to beat Valley last season, and Coach Crabtree has not forgotten the loss.
“For West, the mindset going in is that they beat us last season,” Crabtree said. “These passed couple weeks we have beat teams we probably should of beat and we are going into this at home knowing this is a different type of game.”
The Portsmouth West Senators just came off a triple overtime win against the Minford falcons. They will meet the undefeated Valley Indians Friday night, but this time in Lucasville.
Reach Derrick Parker at [email protected] or @DC__Parker
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Valley | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Waverly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Valley – Burk 30 yard pass from Rolfe. (Rolfe kick).
Valley- Howard eight yard touchdown run. (Rolfe kick).
2nd Quarter
Valley – Howard one yard touchdown run. (Rolfe kick).
3rd Quarter
Valley – Burk 30 yard pass from Rolfe. (Rolfe kick).
Valley – Howard 54 yard pass from Rolfe (Rolfe kick).
4th Quarter
Waverly – #11 10 yard pass from Snodgrass.
Waverly – Payne 29 yard run.
Records:
Valley 6-0, Waverly 3-3
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