Ark Valley News - Hornets fall short against Ark City

Caleb Saner tackles Ark City fullback Rhett Lathers Oct. 15. Valley Center lost to the Bulldogs 24-21.

Hornets fall short against Ark City
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: October 21, 2021

Trailing by three, Valley Center had four chances to score but couldn't convert when it needed to, falling to Ark City 24-21 at home on Oct. 15.

The Hornets are 2-5. Ark City improved to 3-4.

Valley Center led 21-17 at the half but was shut out in the second half.

"They were just able to make plays when they needed to make plays and unfortunately we weren't," Valley Center coach Scott L'Ecuyer said.

The Hornets were within striking distance the entire second half.

Ark City went up 24-21 with 9:45 left in the third quarter. Valley Center got inside the Ark City 40, but failed to convert a fourth-and-two.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Hornets got to the Ark City side of the field but were forced to punt on fourth-and-nine.

Valley Center forced another punt and got inside the Ark City 30 on a couple of receptions by Kade Wilson and runs by Ethan Vanderweide, but Brett Turner was sacked on fourth down.

Finally, Wilson killed an Ark City march into Valley Center territory with a heads-up defensive play when he stripped the ball from Ark City running back Rhett Lathers and recovered the fumble at the Valley Center 30, giving the Hornets what turned out to be their final chance of the game.

"I think it's characteristic of his class and the fight they have," L'Ecuyer said. "It's nice to see them fight to the end to get a shot. We talked about that in the timeout right before. We said, ‘We need a play. We need somebody to step up and make a play.' He's a senior who's been on the field for us, this is his third year on the field for us. Those are the kind of guys you lean on to make those plays."

With 2:32 left in the game, Valley Center had a chance to either even the score or take the lead. Hank Welu completed a short pass to Wilson on first down and then threw three incomplete passes, quickly giving the ball back to Ark City.

"Anytime you don't get the first, you could've done a lot of things different," L'Ecuyer said. "We'll watch that on film, figure out the mistakes we made and learn for the future. As coaches, we don't coach mistake-free ballgames either. We've got to watch the film and learn from our mistakes."

The Hornets were mistake free to start the game.

Valley Center scored on its opening possession. Welu capped a seven-play drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Wilson. The PAT kick was blocked.

It was Valley Center's first offensive touchdown since the fourth quarter of the Sept. 24 game against Salina Central.

"It was great and we were running the ball early," L'Ecuyer said. "That's part of our formula and part of the formula we want to establish here — play tough defense, run the ball, move the chains and limit their possessions. So it was good to see our run game resurge there in the beginning."

Ark City answered with a long drive and a screen pass from Cadon Clark to Lucas Barnes that turned into a 15-yard touchdown.

The Bulldogs extended their lead early in the second quarter as Clark struck again, throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Antwone Pratt in the end zone.

Valley Center turned a short field into a touchdown drive to even the score at 14-14. Vanderweide and Nolan Bevan combined to get the Hornets inside the Ark City 20 and an Ark City penalty gave Valley Center first down inside the 10. Vanderweide punched it in from the 1. Welu floated a pass to Bevan for the two-point conversion.

After Ark City failed to convert a fourth-and-one, the Hornets took over inside the Bulldog 30.

Five plays later, Welu ran up the middle from two yards out for the touchdown and a 21-14 lead.

Ark City kicked a field goal to end the first half.

The Bulldogs went ahead 24-21 with 9:45 left in the third when running back Wyatt Bahm took a handoff from Clark and scored from 24 yards out.

Valley Center had 245 yards of offense, its highest output in three games. Ark City had 300.

Bevan led the Hornets with 110 yards on 20 carries. Welu completed five of 13 passes for 48 yards.

Clark completed 13 of 18 passes for 112 yards. Bahm rushed for 98 yards on 12 carries.

"The close ones always hurt, and those are the ones you reflect on at the end of the season and say, what could we have done different," L'Ecuyer said. "But you can't get it back now."

Valley Center will play at Goddard Eisenhower Oct. 22. The Tigers are 4-3 after losing to Heights (28-23), beating Salina Central (24-14), losing to Andover Central (35-13), losing to Andover (19-0), beating Goddard (24-0), beating Ark City (33-14) and beating Great Bend (33-2).

"They're a tough opponent, and our guys are undoubtedly going to be disheartened by this one and the fact that we've lost, what, four in a row now," L'Ecuyer said. "… But the one thing they've got to realize is, you only get so much high school football in your life. You can't let the last one beat you on the next one, so we've got to come out and practice, befitting of playing those games and getting those opportunities because for most of our guys, this is it. There is no next level. This is the last series of football they're going to play in life. They've just got to fight through that disappointment, come back ready to practice and prepare for another opportunity on Friday."

Valley Center beat Eisenhower last year, 23-7.

"C" team — The Valley Center "C" team defeated Ark City, 36-30, Oct. 18 on the road.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first after a Hornet turnover in their own territory. On the ensuing possession, the Hornets used up the rest of the first quarter as they converted several fourth downs on a drive that ended with a Chase Slay off-tackle run from the 1-yard line.

From there, Ark City dominated most of the second quarter with three more scores to push the lead to 24-6.

The Hornets were able to score just before half when Connor Meyer found Jaxson Bishop in the back of the end zone from five yards out to make the halftime score, 24-12.

Ark City started with the ball in the second half and the Hornets forced a punt. Another long drive that started at the Valley Center 10 resulted in another touchdown pass from Meyer. This time it was to Austin Saner from six yards. The conversion was successful to make the score 24-20.

Ark City answered on the next possession to extend the lead, 30-20.

Needing two scores, the Hornets got the ball with just under five minutes to go in the game. After a couple of runs, Meyer found Doc Needham in the end zone with a 35-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was good to bring the Hornets within 30-28. With three minutes to go in the game, the Hornets attempted an onside kick, but a penalty forced a re-kick. The Hornets kicked deep, and the Bulldogs took over on their own 30-yard line. On the next play, Ark City handed the ball off and Drake Thornton caused a fumble and Trey Heitsman recovered the ball to give the ball to Valley Center with favorable field position with 2:45 left in the game.

A personal foul by Ark City gave VC the ball at the 11-yard line. The Hornets scored on fourth down from the 3-yard line on a run from Chase Slay. The Hornet two-point conversion was good to lead 36-30, with 1 minute left. Ark City tried some desperation trick plays at the end, but came up short.

Valley Center is 3-4 on the season, with one game remaining against Eisenhower Oct. 25.

Ark City 24,

Valley Center 21

Ark City 7 10 7 0 — 24

Valley Center 6 15 0 0 — 21

Scoring

VC — Kade Wilson six-yard pass from Hank Welu (kick blocked) 9:27 1st

AC — Lucas Barnes 15-yard pass from Cadon Clark (Clark kick) 3:28 1st

AC — Trevor Pierce 24-yard pass from Clark (Clark kick) 11:48 2nd

VC — Ethan Vanderweide 1-yard run (Welu pass to Nolan Bevan) 6:53 2nd

VC — Welu 20yard run (Cade Martin kick) 3:25 2nd

AC — Clark 33-yard field goal :27 2nd

AC — Wyatt Bahm 24-yard run (Clark kick) 9:45 3rd

Team stats

Time of possession — VC: 23:21; AC: 24:26. First downs — VC: 13; AC: 13. Rushing attempts-yards — VC: 34-179; AC: 39-188. Passing completions-attempts-yards — VC: 8-17-66; AC: 13-18-112. Total yards — VC: 245; AC: 300. Fumbles lost — VC: 1; AC: 1. Interceptions — VC: 0; AC: 0. Punts-average — VC: 2-28; AC: 2-42.

Individual stats

Rushing — VC: Nolan Bevan 20-110-0, Ethan Vanderweide 9-62-1, Hank Welu 4-12-1, Brett Turner 1-(-)5-0. AC: Cadon Clark 14-44-0, Rhett Lathers 10-33-0, Wyatt Bahm 12-98-1, Lucas Barnes 1-21-0, Rudolfo Zapata 1-(-)1-0, Trevor Pierce 1-(-)7-0.

Receiving — VC: Kade Wilson 5-42-1, Trynton Flores 1-15-0, Brayden Boyd 1-10-0, Samuel Bass 1-(-)1-0. AC: Trevor Pierce 4-34-1, Blake Bucher 3-26-0, Lucas Barnes 2-17-1, Rhett Lathers 3-18-0, Lance Blubaugh 1-17-0.

Passing — VC: Hank Welu 5-13-48-1-0, Brett Turner 3-4-18-0-0. AC: Cadon Clark 13-18-112-2-0.

VC defensive stats

Tackles solo-assisted — Brayden Boyd 2-1, Kade Wilson 3-1 (2 passes defensed, 1 fumble caused, 1 fumble recovered), Easton Boone 5-3, Caleb Saner 1-2 (1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB sack, 1 pass defensed), Kyler Palmer 0-6, Ethan Vanderweide 1-2 (1 QB hurry), Cameron Bowyer 4-11 (1 QB sack), Hunter Slay 0-2, Jacob Kasselman 1-2, Sam Bass 2-2, Huner Boomershine 0-6 (1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hurry), Travis Ruth 0-1.

VC scoring drives

•Tied 0-0 and starting at its own 20 with 12:00 left in the first quarter. Opening drive of the game. FB Ethan Vanderweide gains 18 on first down. RB Nolan Bevan finds a hole and runs for 43 yards. Bevan gains four yards. QB Hank Welu throws an incomplete pass intended for WR Brayden Boyd. Bevan gains six yards. Bevan gains three yards, setting up second-and-goal at the Ark City 6-yard line. WR Kade Wilson moves from left to right, takes a shovel pass from Welu and runs in for the touchdown. Cade Martin's kick is blocked. Valley Center 6, Ark City 0. 9:27 first quarter.

•Trailing 14-6 and starting at its own 49 with 11:47 left in the second quarter. The favorable field position was set up by an Ark City onside kick that Valley Center's Dawson Petrie recovered and a personal foul on Ark City that gave the Hornets another 15 yards. Welu gained eight yards running to the left. Bevan runs for five yards to the left. Welu finds Boyd on a post route in the middle for 10 yards. Vanderweide gains three. Bevan runs for six. Vanderweide runs for three. Welu throws an incomplete pass intended for Wilson in the end zone. Ark City defensive back Blake Bucher is called for pass interference, moving the ball inside the Ark City 10. Bevan runs for two yards and a first down. Bevan gains four more. Ark City is whistled for encroachment, moving the ball to the Ark City 1-yard line, setting up second-and-goal. With a extra blocking provided by linebacker Cameron Bowyer, Vanderweide goes up the middle for the touchdown. Welu floats a pass to Bevan in the end zone for a two-point conversion. Valley Center 14, Ark City 14. 6:53 second quarter.

•Tied 14-14 and starting at the Ark City 29 with 5:28 left in the second quarter. The favorable field position was set up on an Ark City fourth-down fumble and recovery. Bevan gains six on first down. Vanderweide goes up the middle for 21. Bevan loses two and then gains two. Welu goes up the middle for the touchdown. Martin kicks the extra point. Valley Center 21, Ark City 14. 3:25 2nd quarter.