Ark Valley News - Valley Center bows to Eisenhower

Parker Schrater escapes pressure and throws a pass over two Eisenhower defenders. Valley Center lost 42-14.

Valley Center bows to Eisenhower
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: October 12, 2017

The wind and Goddard Eisenhower's three-headed monster ground game conspired to hand the Valley Center High School football team its first loss of the season Oct. 6.

The Hornets, on the road after enjoying a five-game winning streak, fell to the previously winless Tigers, 42-14.

“On paper, it looks like this was a huge upset, but it really wasn't," said Valley Center coach Caleb Smith. “They were a team we knew played a brutal schedule this year and played tough teams tough."

Valley is 5-1 and will return to the scene of the loss to face perhaps the best team of any class in the state, Goddard, on Oct. 13.

“Now we get to play the best team in the state," Smith said. “We're not going to back down from them, but obviously we know we're going to have to play a much better football game and try to do our best to compete with them. … We've got to take it as a challenge to compete well with Goddard next week."

Eisenhower coach Marc Marinelli used last year's matchup as motivation, especially when Valley Center cut the Tigers' lead to 28-14 in the third quarter. The Hornets trailed by the same margin last season and ended up with a 54-28 victory by scoring 40 unanswered points in the second half.

History did not repeat itself.

“I got them together and I pointed at the scoreboard and said here we are again," Marinelli said. “I told them that they're mindset determines if we leave happy or we leave disappointed again. We talked about it all week. They knew what I was talking about."

Valley Center struggled out of the gate.

Winning the coin flip, Eisenhower kicked off and forced Valley Center to play into a strong south wind.

The Hornets went three-and-out, and Eisenhower promptly scored the first of its three first-quarter touchdowns.

Eisenhower flexed the strength of its ground game early, using two running back options and quarterback Ty Trudo. The Hornets appeared deceived by the quick exchanges and fake handoffs in the backfield.

Trudo and running backs Justis Moore and Parker Wenzel combined for 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

“That's one of the things with the flex-bone, it's hard to simulate in practice," Smith said. “It does take a while to adjust to, but they were just more physical than us up front the whole first half. Coming out of the second half I thought we did a better job of being more physical on the D-line and the linebacking corps. … If we see it down the road, hopefully we'll be more prepared for it."

Wenzel and Trudo scored touchdowns in the first quarter, while Eisenhower linebacker Seth Golden stripped the ball from Hornet running back Larry Wilson and ran 32 yards for a touchdown.

Eisenhower tacked on another touchdown early in the second quarter and, just like that, Valley trailed 28-0.

“It was just a rough first half for us," Smith said.

Valley couldn't get anything going against the wind. Wyatt Lange, making his first start at quarterback since the first game of the season, threw a floater that was picked off and led to an Eisenhower score in the first quarter.

Nearly the entire quarter was played on the Valley Center side of the field.

Valley didn't fare much better in the second set of 12 minutes, either. A Hornet drive made it to the Eisenhower 31, where Valley stalled on fourth down.

The Hornets forced a turnover on downs, but failed to capitalize on its two second-quarter possessions.

Things turned around a bit for the Hornets in the third quarter.

Valley Center forced an Eisenhower fumble, which the Hornets recovered inside the Eisenhower 40.

Parker Schrater came in for Lange and led the Hornets on a 10-play drive that ended with a quarterback sneak from inside the 1-yard line. The drive included a couple of catches by Dalton Cross and some re-energized running by Wilson.

Valley forced an Eisenhower punt on a drive that included a self-inflicted penalty on the Tigers and went back to business with favorable field position.

Schrater fed Wilson and then threw a strike to Kadin Pearson to get inside the Eisenhower 15. Schrater rolled right on second down and found tight end Zach Gillig, who ran into the corner of the end zone.

With 3:30 left in the third quarter, Valley was making it a ballgame.

“I was proud of how we responded in the second half," Smith said. “If we had the opportunity to play them again, we'd compete better."

The momentum didn't last.

Eisenhower mixed up its offense and showcased Trudo's arm for a 32-yard bomb over the middle to Chance Omli, setting up a first down near the Valley Center 10. Three plays later, Eisenhower regained its 21-point advantage.

Valley Center went three-and-out, and Eisenhower went three-and-in for the game's final tally, a touchdown run by Wenzel, knocking down Valley Center's second level.

The Hornets' final two drives came up empty.

“It was tough going against (the wind) and with it, because we were overthrowing balls with it," Smith said. “It was tough for us tonight, and that played in their favor. They're definitely a pound-it team and we're a team that's had to be a little more multiple. We've gotten a lot of breaks this year and tonight it kind of reversed on us. That's football, and I just challenged our guys to respond next week. That's adversity, and what kind of mindset are we going into coming out of a loss?"

Up next, Valley Center will play at Goddard, the 2016 Class 5A state runner-up. The Lions are 6-0 and have put together an impressive 2017 answer. Goddard beat Wichita Northwest (42-20), Derby (50-20), Andover (21-17), Eisenhower (20-3), Salina South (38-0) and Ark City (44-21).

Goddard beat Valley Center last year, 49-7, after leading 49-0 in the fourth quarter.

The Lions are led by quarterback Blake Sullivan, a 6-0, 195-pound senior. Sullivan has put up some impressive numbers this year, including 794 passing yards and 701 rushing, averaging nearly 250 combined yards per game.

Junior varsity — The Valley Center JV team fell to Eisenhower, 28-20, at home Oct. 9.

Valley Center led 6-0 in the first quarter after a 36-yard touchdown run by Eli Clouse.

Eisenhower scored twice in the second quarter to take a 14-6 halftime lead. Eisenhower extended the lead to 20-6 in the third quarter.

Valley Center responded in the fourth. Kaleb Harden connected with Blayne Hightower on a 66-yard touchdown pass to cut into the lead.

Harden found Caden Holle for a 42-yard touchdown, but Eisenhower scored eight points in the fourth for the win.

The JV team will host Goddard Oct. 16.

Freshmen — The Valley Center freshman team beat Eisenhower, 34-26, at home Oct. 9.

Scoring touchdowns for the Hornets were Myles Thompson, who had two; Ben Warner, Hunter Sharp and Marcelo Martinez.

Valley led 22-6 at halftime and 34-8 after three quarters, holding off a late Eisenhower rally.

The freshman team will host Goddard Oct. 16.

Goddard Eisenhower 42, Valley Center 14

Valley Center 0 0 14 0 — 14

Eisenhower 21 7 0 14 — 42

Scoring

E — Parker Wenzel 9-yard run (Jacob Abel kick) 5:42 1st qtr.

E — Seth Golden 32-yard fumble return (Abel kick) 4:51 1st qtr.

E — Ty Trudo 3-yard run (Abel kick) 2:32 1st qtr.

E — Justis Moore 18-yard pass from Ty Trudo (Abel kick) 10:03 2nd qtr.

VC — Parker Schrater 1-yard run (Aaron Coash kick) 7:00 3rd qtr.

VC — Zach Gillig 12-yard pass from Schrater (Coash kick) 3:30 3rd qtr.

E — Colton MacKinnon 11-yard pass from Trudo (Abel kick) 11:08 4th qtr.

E — Parker Wenzel 15-yard run (Abel kick) 8:11 4th qtr.

Team stats

First downs — VC: 8; E: 13. Rushing — VC: 35-97; E: 48-250. Passing — VC: 6-23-54; E: 4-5-57. Total yards — VC: 151; E: 307. Fumbles lost — VC: 1; E: 2. Interceptions — VC: 1; E: 0. Punts-average — VC: 2-41.5; E: 1-19.

Individual stats

Rushing — VC: Larry Wilson 20-72-0, Chase Ramirez 11-22-0, Parker Schrater 2-3-1, Dalton Cross 1-2-0, Tyler Boone 1-(-)2-0. E: Parker Wenzel 17-70-2, Ty Trudo 16-82-1, Justis Moore 9-49-0, Seth Golden 4-34-0, Colton MacKinnon 2-15-0.

Receiving — VC: Dalton Cross 2-18-0, Kadin Pearson 1-11-0, Zach Gillig 1-12-1, Larry Wilson 1-9-0, Tyler Boone 1-4-0. E: Chance Omli 1-32-0, Justis Moore 1-18-1, Colton MacKinnon 1-11-1, Parker Wenzel 1-(-)4-0.

Passing — VC: Parker Schrater 4-17-41-1-0, Wyatt Lange 2-6-13-0-1. E: Ty Trudo 4-5-57-2-0.

VC defensive stats

Tackles (solo-assisted) — Dallas Boone 1-3 (1 QB sack for 6 yards), Zach Quandt 0-4, Patrick Gillen 7-3, Tyler Boone 3-7, Brantly Loibl 2-1 (1 fumble recovery, 1 fumble caused), Larry Wilson 0-1, Caleb Rains 1-3 (1 fumble recovery), Aaron Coash 3-1 (1 tackle for a loss, 1 quarterback sack for 3 yards), Kaleb Voegeli 0-2, Dalton Cross 4-1, Quentin Kirk 1-0, Zach Williams 4-0, Kadin Pearson 5-4, Dylan Bastian 0-1, Dayton Watkins 1-4, Brennan Ricks 3-4.

VC special teams

Aaron Coash 3 kickoffs for 180 yards (60 long), 3 touchbacks; Dalton Cross 1 kickoff return for 26 yards; Kadin Pearson 2 punts for 83 yards (52 long); Zach Gillig 1 kickoff return for 11 yards.

VC scoring drives

•Down 28-0 and starting at the Eisenhower 37 with 11:31 left in the third quarter. The favorable field position was set up by an Eisenhower turnover. RB Larry Wilson fails to gain a yard on first down. QB Parker Schrater completes a pass to WR Dalton Cross on the right side. Cross breaks a tackle and gains 12 yards. Wilson runs for three to the left. Schrater scrambles but fails to connect with Cross. Schrater completes a pass to Cross for five yards. Wilson breaks two tackles and gains six yards. Wilson runs left, but cuts back and finds an opening for 10 yards. FB Tyler Boone is stopped for a two-yard loss. Schrater keeps the ball on an option, loses the ball and falls on it at the goalline. Schrater sneaks in for the touchdown. K Aaron Coash kicks the extra point. Eisenhower 28, Valley Center 7. 7:00 3rd qtr.

•Down 28-7 and starting at the Eisenhower 26 with 5:29 left in the third quarter. The favorable field position was set up by a defensive stop and an Eisenhower punt into the wind. Wilson gains two up the middle. Wilson gains one to the left. Schrater passes to WR Kadin Pearson on the right sideline for 11 yards. Wilson fails to gain any yardage on first down. On second-and-10 from the 12, Schrater rolls right and completes a pass to TE Zach Gillig, who squeezes into the corner of the end zone. Coash kicks the extra point. Eisenhower 28, Valley Center 14. 3:30 3rd qtr.