By Chris Walsh
VALDOSTA — The Valwood Valiants (3-0) continued to roll as they won their home opener over Eagle Nest Christian Academy (2-2) on Friday night, 44-14.
“It’s great to be home. Great atmosphere, weather, and crowd tonight,” Valwood head coach Mike Patrick said after the game. “3-0, we haven’t been there in a while.”
The Valiants dominated both sides of the ball through three quarters and were rewarded by a short, clock-running fourth quarter.
The Valiants started the game with the ball and, after a 30-yard return by Ricky Williams, they were in good field position. The Valiants moved into Eagle territory, but on first down from the 31, Zac Henry made his only mistake of the game.
Henry was intercepted by freshman Deonte Dunklin, who returned it back to the 35-yard line.
After the tough Valwood defense — which allowed only 198 total yards of offense — made its first stop of the game, it was time for the offense to go back to work.
With a heavy dose of Robert Hires, Henry, and Williams, the Valiants marched down to the seven yard line. On second and goal, Henry hit Kyle Hall in the end zone for the first points of the game. Henry made the extra point and Valwood was up 7-0.
On the Eagles’ second series of the game they struck right back with a 3-play, 73 yard drive. After a big pass from Cliff McKinney to Kadarious Pope for 60 yards, McKinney snuck in from three yards out for the first Eagle Nest touchdown.
The two-point try failed and Valwood still held a slim lead going into the second quarter, 7-6.
In the second quarter the Valiants exploded with touchdowns on all four of their drives. The run continued through the second half with 34 unanswered points.
To start the second quarter, Williams burst up the gut, put a huge stiff arm on the safety, and won a foot race 44 yards for the score. The Henry extra point made it 14-6.
Valwood started their next possession with great field position after Henry returned a punt 25 yards to the Eagle Nest 34 yard line. Five plays later Henry hit Carter Karras for a 15-yard touchdown pass, Karras’ third touchdown catch of the year. Henry’s extra point made it 21-6.
Valwood took over deep in Eagle territory on the next drive, after a fake punt, and went right back to work. Starting on the Eagle Nest 28 yard line, the Valiants chipped away until Williams ran the ball into the end zone from one yard out. A Henry extra point made it 28-6.
On the ensuing kick-off, Henry kicked it 10 yards and ran down to cover the onside kick and give Valwood the ball back. Two plays later Henry hit Cole Parker for a 23-yard touchdown. Henry’s extra point made it 35-6.
Eagle Nest tried to put together a half-ending drive, but spiked the ball to stop the clock on fourth down and gave Valwood the ball back with 1.9 seconds. Henry tried the 58-yard field goal, but fell short.
To start the second half, Deron Smith picked off McKinney’s pass on their second play of the half. Valwood then drove down the field and capped off the drive with a five yard touchdown run by Henry.
Henry’s extra point went wide, but Valwood held a 41-6 lead.
The Eagles scored quick, two plays, on the ensuing drive. McKinney ran the score in from 19 yards out, and a converted two-point try cut the lead to 41-14.
Valwood put the last three points on the board with a 30-yard field goal by Henry to cap off a 13-play, 73-yard drive. The drive was kept alive when Karras recovered a live ball on a Valwood punt.
The young players came in to seal the game in the fourth quarter as Valwood held on to win 44-14.
For Eagle Nest, McKinney had 22 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He was also 5-for-15, with one interception, and 101 yards through the air. The Eagles had nine first downs and five fumbles, but only one was lost. Pope had a game-high 12 tackles.
For Valwood, Henry went 5-for-8, for 52 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 13 times for 88 yards and one score. Williams had 15 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. The Valiant defense had six total sacks, two from Jon Rutkowski.
The Valiants play at home next week against Sherwood Christian Academy, with kick-off set for 7:30 p.m.
