VALDOSTA —
Valwood’s defense forced five turnovers, Khary Paige scored four touchdowns and the Valiants knocked off the Memorial Day Matadors in a battle of the undefeated teams, 36-8, Friday night at Goddard Field.
Valwood (4-0) overcame a poor game from starting quarterback Jake Lastinger, thanks to an opportunistic defense and a running game that rolled up an impressive 277 yards.
Paige accounted for 206 of those yards rushing for Valwood, coming on just 13 carries, and four of Valwood’s five scores, as he put on an amazing display. Paige had all his tools showcased in this game as he ran through and around the Matadors' defense.
“Khary Paige is a football player. Khary Paige is a winner,” said Valwood head coach Ashley Henderson. “I’m glad he’s on our team. Khary Paige and those five bigs right there, the five offensive linemen, they played a heck of a game tonight, and they dominated up front. That’s what we needed them to do.”
Lastinger struggled against the Matadors as he completed just 2 of his 10 passes with an interception and only 2 yards, easily his worst game of the season.
“We could've let him throw out of his troubles, but we wanted to keep running it at them, and keep the clock running,” said Henderson. "We got other guys that can make plays, and it wasn’t all him, we didn’t have guys getting off press coverage like we needed them to. We just sold out on running the football. We tried to shorten the game.”
The Valiants' defense made it easier to continue running the ball. Valwood held Memorial Day scoreless until the third quarter with a bend don’t break defense that sacked the Matadors’ quarterback three times and forced five turnovers.
“We bent a couple times, but we never really broke,” said Henderson. “We’d bow our neck late every time. We made plays when we needed to.”
The game was much tighter in the first half than the score would suggest.
Valwood took over on their own 38-yard line near the end of the first half with the scored tied 0-0. On the fourth play of the drive, Paige took a handoff from Lastinger and cutback to find a seam to take the ball 23 yards for the score with 56 seconds remaining in the half.
After a 40-yard run by Marik Merine on the first play of the second half, in which he broke five tackles, Paige was given the ball five straight times, ending with a 3-yard plunge for the touchdown.
On his very next touch, Paige found a seam on the right and showed his breakaway speed when he took the ball 38 yards for the score. Three Valwood plays later, Paige got the ball again on a pitch to the right. A broken tackle, and a cutback later, and Paige was 58 yards down the field for his fourth touchdown of the evening. Memorial Day kept itself off of the scoreboard on at least three occasions in the first half. On their second drive of the game, Matadors quarterback Earl Washington completed a deep pass to Deric Wright. Two plays later, George Lahood dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone.
On the Matadors’ next drive, after 14 plays, a sack by Valwood pushed Memorial Day out of field goal range and forced a punt. The Matadors were left scoreless on their third consecutive drive inside of the red zone after a fumble on the 10-yard line.
Valwood is idle next week and will look to win a fifth straight game on the season against Mount De Sales Academy, the largest school in the GISA, on the road Sept. 28 in Macon.
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Khary Paige (3) rushed for 206 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Valiants' 36-8 win over Memorial Day on Friday night. Paul Leavy | Special to the Times
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Three Valwood defenders tackle a Memorial Day ball carrier. Paul Leavy | Special to the Times
Discussion
Valiants top Matadors
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