Ark Valley News - Valley tries to regroup after loss

Brennan Ricks wraps up Eisenhower running back Parker Wenzel.

Valley tries to regroup after loss
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: October 25, 2018

The Valley Center High School football team is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. The fate of its season depends on it.

As the No. 14 seed in the west half of the Class 5A state playoff bracket, the Hornets will travel to No. 3 Great Bend Oct. 26 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Valley Center is 3-5, while Great Bend is 6-2. The winner plays again. The season ends for the losing team.

"It's going to be tough," Hornet coach Scott L'Ecuyer said of preparing for the Panthers. "As coaches, we're going to go do our part on the film. We're going to have high expectations. … They've got to find that passion for football. It's tough when you're 3-5 to remember how passionate you were when the season started. We've just got to rediscover that passion and say, hey, we've got one more week to play. Hopefully, we can extend it beyond that. But we've got to find that passion for football and enjoy what we have ahead of us, enjoy one another and just go compete."

After losses to Goddard and Ark City, Valley Center's struggles continued Oct. 19 as the Hornets fell to Goddard Eisenhower, 34-20, at home.

"We started flat," L'Ecuyer said. "In the first half, we didn't score any points. We get a punt blocked in our own territory. We fumble in our own territory. We spotted them 10 points off of that. We've got to start faster."

Eisenhower led 7-0 after the first quarter and 20-0 at halftime before Valley Center could get on the board. The Hornets cut Eisenhower's lead to a single score, 27-20, but the Tigers pulled away for good on a short-field drive set up by what appeared to be a curious onside kick by Valley Center with more than eight minutes left in the game.

"I think it came off his foot wrong. It wasn't the call," L'Ecuyer said. "… It was not the intent. I don't know if it came off his foot wrong or what. We'll just have to check out the video."

Eisenhower's Parker Wenzel scored two touchdowns in the first half, and Ian Young kicked two field goals as the Hornet defense buckled under the bruising Eisenhower running attack. Wenzel finished the game with three touchdowns and 179 yards on 25 carries. Colton Mackinnon and quarterback Collin Mackey combined for 87 yards rushing.

Four of Valley Center's seven first-half drives penetrated the Eisenhower side of the field, but each ended empty. The Hornets failed to convert four fourth-down tries, including one at the Eisenhower 21. On top of that, Valley Center turned the ball over and had a punt blocked. Both miscues led to Eisenhower scores.

"I just feel like we need to get something going well early," L'Ecuyer said. "If we don't, it just seems like it takes forever to get those wheels churning. … Man, if I could figure it out, we would've had it done two weeks ago. We're struggling with that, and we've just got to figure out a way to start faster."

Like they did against Goddard two weeks prior, the Hornets won the second half, outscoring Eisenhower 20-14. But it wasn't enough.

Valley Center forced an Eisenhower punt on its first possession of the second half, but the Hornets couldn't get the ball moving. Though the Tigers didn't need any additional momentum, a bad snap on Valley Center's punt gave Eisenhower the ball at the Hornet 20.

Valley Center's defense made a stand, though, forcing a fumble and defending two Mackey passes.

The Hornets used three plays to get onto the scoreboard. Parker Schrater ran for 24 yards on first down and then hit Zach Williams in stride for a 40-yard gain. Larry Wilson ran off left tackle for the touchdown.

Eisenhower maintained control of the contest, however, answering with a seven-play, 85-yard drive that included heavy doses of Wenzel and ended with a direct snap to the 190-pound running back at the Hornet 3-yard line.

But Valley Center wasn't finished.

The Hornets took possession near midfield and sprung Wilson for a 44-yard touchdown run, making Eisenhower's 27-14 lead look a bit more manageable with 11:10 left in the game.

The Hornets forced an Eisenhower punt and got the ball back with 9:41 left.

Two plays later, Schrater threw a long pass to Jeren Carter on the right sideline. Carter ran in for the 81-yard touchdown.

With plenty of time, a defense with new life and Eisenhower's lead cut to 27-20, it appeared Valley Center had the momentum to tie the game. However, Valley Center's kickoff was short and Eisenhower recovered at the Hornet 45-yard line.

With its run game, Eisenhower chewed up the clock and the short field and extended its lead to 34-20 with a two-yard touchdown run by Mackey.

Though they answered with a long drive, the Hornets couldn't get any closer.

Up next, the Hornets will travel to Great Bend Oct. 19.

Great Bend has wins over Andover (35-12), Hays (15-7), Dodge City (35-15), Andover Central (30-7), Liberal (35-6) and Garden City (49-6) and losses to Wichita Northwest (56-34) and Bishop Carroll (36-33).

The Hornets have some experience with the Panthers. In its deepest playoff run since 1995, Valley Center played at Great Bend in 2016, losing by four points and finishing the season with a 9-2 record.

Junior varsity — The Valley Center JV finished the season with a 6-2 record after a heartbreaking 28-22 overtime loss to Eisenhower on the road Oct. 22.

Coach Blake Pearson had trouble holding back emotions when addressing the team after the game.

Pearson said he couldn't be happier with the fight and the passion the team played with all season, and he was hopeful for a bright future for the Hornets.

Valley Center got the game started on defense as Caleb Peach intercepted an Eisenhower pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Marion Ponds ran in the two-point conversion.

Valley Center started the third quarter down 22-8.

After strong running, Ponds scored on a three-yard run to cut the Eisenhower lead to 22-14.

Valley Center got the ball back after a defensive stop.

Hunter Stacy grabbed a pass to bring the Hornets to midfield. Ponds ran 42 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 10.

Quarterback Myles Thompson ran in for the score, and Stacy caught the two-point attempt to tie the game at 22-22 and force overtime.

Eisenhower scored on its overtime possession, and the Hornets were stopped just short.

Freshmen — The freshman team ended its season with a 41-0 loss at Eisenhower. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The Hornets showed promise on offense with a drive into Eisenhower territory in the second quarter, but the Tigers intercepted a pass to end the threat.

Valley center ended the half with a goal-line stand after Eisenhower took the ball inside the 5-yard line. Eisenhower controlled the second half.

Eisenhower 34,

Valley Center 20

GE 7 13 7 7 — 34

VC 0 0 7 13 — 20

Scoring

GE — Parker Wenzel 5-yard run (Ian Young kick) 5:38 1st

GE — Young 24-yard field goal 10:40 2nd

GE — Wenzel 7-yard run (Young kick) 9:11 2nd

GE — Young 29-yard field goal :00 2nd

VC — Larry Wilson 6-yard run (Hunter Sharp kick) 3:44 3rd

GE — Wenzel 3-yard run (Young kick) 1:36 3rd

VC — Wilson 44-yard run (Sharp kick) 11:10 4th

VC — Jeren Carter 81-yard pass from Parker Schrater (kick failed)

GE — Collin Mackey 2-yard run (Young kick) 4:31 4th

Team stats

First downs — VC: 8; GE: 23. Rushing — VC: 27-61; GE: 50-266. Passing — VC: 17-32-269; GE: 13-27-177. Total yards — VC: 330; GE: 443. Fumbles lost — VC: 1; GE: 0. Interceptions — VC: 0; GE: 0. Punts-average — VC: 1-48; GE: 6-21.5.

Individual stats

Rushing — VC: Larry Wilson 16-64-2; Parker Schrater 10-(-)1-0; Amado Carillo 1-(-)2-0. GE: Parker Wenzel 25-179-3; Collin Mackey 16-46-0; Colton Mackinnon 9-41-0.

Receiving — VC: Zach Williams 6-104-0; Jeren Carter 4-101-1; Amado Carillo 3-15-0; Larry Wilson 2-27-0; Alex Sanchez 1-13-0; Myles Thompson 1-9-0. GE: Mason Turney 3-16-0; Chance Omli 3-52-0; Cody Houser 2-35-0; Cooper Ryan 2-23-0; Jagger Blubaugh 1-35-0; Parker Wenzel 1-5-0; Jade Barrientos 1-11-0.

Passing — VC: Parker Schrater 17-32-269-1-0. GE: Collin Jackey 13-26-177-0-0; Kaden Roy 0-1-0-0-0.

VC defensive stats

Tackles solo-assisted — Blayne Hightower 4-7; Jeren Carter 1-0; Chad Banning 5-6 (1 tackle for a loss); Jaythan Lutz 0-1; Larry Wilson 0-1; Layton Lewis 1-1; Cooper Holdaway 4-4; Mitchell Trible 3-9 (1 QB hurry); Hunter Sharp 3-5; Tony Caldwell 0-2; Garrett Craft 2-3 (1 QB sack for 11-yard loss); Ben Warner 1-6; Zach Williams 1-1; Brennan Ricks 4-5 (2 QB sacks for 8-yard loss).

VC special teams

Jeren Carter 1 kickoff return for 10 yards; Hunter Sharp 1 kickoff return for 12 yards, 4 kickoffs for 139 yards (long 54); Zach Williams 2 punts for 48 yards.

VC scoring drives

•Trailing 20-0 and starting at its own 30 with 4:08 left in the third quarter. QB Parker Schrater runs for 24 yards on first down. Schrater passes to WR Zach Williams in stride running down the left sideline for a 40-yard gain, setting up first-and-10 at the Eisenhower 6. RB Larry Wilson runs to the left for a touchdown. Hunter Sharp kicks the extra point. Score: Eisenhower 20, Valley Center 7. 3:44 3rd.

•Trailing 27-7 and starting at its own 42 with 1:32 left in the third quarter. Schrater gains one on first down. Wilson runs for three up the middle. Schrater connects with WR Jeren Carter for an eight-yard gain. Schrater completes a pass to Amado Carillo, but Valley Center is penalized for holding as the third quarter ends. Schrater passes to Williams for a gain of 10 yards. Schrater throws an incomplete pass intended for Carter, setting up third-and-eight at the Eisenhower 44. Wilson goes up the middle and springs open to the left side and runs for a touchdown. Sharp kicks the extra point. Score: Eisenhower 27, Valley Center 14. 11:10 4th.

•Trailing 27-14 and starting at its own 25 with 9:41 left in the fourth. Schrater fumbles the exchange and loses six yards, setting up seond-and-16 from the Valley Center 19. Schrater fakes a short pass and then unloads to hit Carter in stride down the right sideline. Carter outruns the coverage and scores the touchdown. An encroachment penalty on the PAT moves the ball inside the Eisenhower 2 for Sharp's attempt. The ball sails under the upright. Score: Eisenhower 27, Valley Center 20. 8:55 4th.