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HORNET FOOTBALL: Valley remains unbeaten
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: September 21, 2017

The Valley Center High School football team stayed perfect Friday (Sept. 15) with a 35-7 win over Ark City at home.

The 3-0 Hornets never trailed as they imposed their defensive will on an Ark City team that was without its starting quarterback for most of three quarters.

“Really good defense tonight," said Valley Center coach Caleb Smith. “You take away the almost pick-six and they pretty much shut them out. Played really, really well. … We were able to make stops when they were backed up against the wall."

The Bulldogs scored from the Valley Center 1-yard line after a long interception return in the first quarter. Otherwise, Ark City was shutout.

“It feels pretty good to be 3-0," said Hornet quarterback Parker Schrater. “I feel like this is the first game we finally started blowing them out. It should've been a shutout, but I threw a pick and they returned it to the (1) yard line. That's on me that they scored there. Other than that, the defense got four turnovers. Coach Smith challenged them to get four turnovers at the beginning of the game, and that's what they got. Defense played excellent again."



Valley Center scored on its first play from scrimmage as Larry Wilson bounced off the line, ran right and scored the 69-yarder.

Ark City answered later in the first when defensive back Nate Spencer grabbed a tipped ball and ran it 84 yards to the Valley Center 1. The Bulldogs took two plays to score.

Valley Center went ahead on its next drive as Schrater passed to receiver Dalton Cross over the middle and Cross did the rest, scoring a 51-yard touchdown.

Defense scored again — for the third time in as many games — as Wilson intercepted a Cevin Carter pass and ran it 27 yards for the touchdown and a 21-7 lead. It was Wilson's second pick-six of the season.

Carter left the game with an injured right arm on Ark City's next possession. A backup quarterback, Hunter O'Toole, came in and promptly fumbled the ball on an exchange with his running back.

After a scoreless second quarter, Valley Center took its first possession of the second half 53 yards for a touchdown. Tyler Boone, who played fullback much of the night, ran in from the 1 after Schrater scrambled and completed passes of 11, 22 and 12 yards to get deep into Ark City territory.

Ark City's other backup quarterback Ike Abrams took over and went to work in the third quarter. He completed six passes to get inside the Valley Center 5-yard line. On second-and-goal at the Valley Center 1, Abrams rolled right and was sacked by Boone and Brennan Ricks. Abrams threw two incomplete passes to give the ball to Valley Center.

The teams traded interception turnovers before the third quarter ended.

In the fourth, Schrater used his legs as an offensive weapon for the Hornets. He scrambled for 22 yards on what appeared to be a called quarterback draw and even ran up the middle a couple of times before he rolled right on third-and-goal from the 3, ran back to the left, ducked under a couple of tacklers and ran in for the touchdown for the final tally of the night.

Valley Center will play at Newton Sept. 22.






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