Valley View football players celebrate their 36-27 win against Alvord on Friday.
Photo:
9/2/2022
Valley View beats Alvord, ends streak.
Tanner Spearman, Sports Editor of the Gainesville Register
Valley View football players celebrate their 36-27 win against Alvord on Friday.
Photo:
After a long wait, southern
Cooke County hosted a victory celebration Friday night.
The Valley View football team defeated Alvord 36-27 at John Kassen Stadium,
ending the Eagles’ losing streak.
Valley View (1-1) last won a game Oct. 30, 2020, when the Eagles defeated
Nocona. After 672 days, the Eagles clawed their way to victory.
Alvord (0-2) scored first, but the Eagles responded and never trailed again.
Valley View coach Curtis King said the Eagles needed this win.
“Playing close, being competitive doesn’t cut it anymore,” King said. “It’s about time we started talking about winning again. We did that all week. Basically, our motto this week was nothing else was acceptable except to win.”
Valley View’s defense had a great response from its week one defeat. The Eagles held Alvord to 1-of-9 on third down and 2-of-5 on fourth. They forced five turnovers, consisting of three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Lawson Links intercepted two passes, and fellow senior Wyatt Huber took an Alvord pass 45 yards the other way for a touchdown.
King said the defense played aggressive.
“The thing that impressed me on both sides of the ball, we ran all night,” King said. “We were on top of the ball. We were around their ballcarriers. Alvord did some great things. They’re athletic, and they’re big and physical. They took advantage of a couple of things that we did, but overall, we ran to the ball.”
With the game tied at 21 late in the third quarter, sophomore Carson Rojas put the Eagles in front with a 1-yard run. Molly Moss, a junior, made what became a vital extra point. In the final minute of the quarter, Jacob Johnson scored for Alvord on a 25-yard run, but the Bulldogs missed the extra point and still trailed, 28-27.
Late in the fourth, freshman Tyson Price padded the lead with a 35-yard touchdown run. He completed a pass to Huber for a successful 2-point conversion, making it a two-possession game.
Afterward, Alvord drove down the field and broke free on a long run, which looked to be headed for the end zone. Instead, the Eagles knocked the ball loose, and Price recovered it to seal the win.
King said every time Alvord scored, his players kept fighting.
“There was no quit in them,” King said. “I could see in their eyes. We talked all week about just being better athletes than they were. For this game, we were.”
Price threw for 154 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Eagles in rushing with 93 yards and two scores. Rojas followed with 87 yards and a touchdown. Links led the receivers with 99 yards and a score.
King said the Eagles need to keep doing what they did against Alvord going forward.
“We have to believe in ourselves,” King said. “Believe in the fact that we want to be better athletes on the field than them. If we can accomplish that, then we got a chance.”
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Wise County Messenger
Video highlights of the Alvord Bulldogs;
38 yard touchdown pass
85 yard touchdown run
Interception
15 yard touchdown run
Interception
Alvord
Valley View
338
Total yards
80
Passing yards 154
258
Rushing yards
1-9
Third down conversion 8-16
5
Turnovers
3
2
Fumbles
0
3
Interceptions
3
If the stats were reported for each team it would sure help a person appreciate and enjoy the contest. NLN
Congratulations to the PLAYER OF THE GAME, #5 Lawson
Links. He had an exceptional game on offense and defense.
(Photo, courtesy of Amanda McLaughlin)
At this time (9/5/2022) MAXPREPS has our District rankings as;
1. Holiday
2. Henrietta
3. Callisburg
4. Valley View
5. City View (Wichita Falls)
6. S&S Consolidated