Week 9: Wheelersburg (7-1, 3-0) @ Valley (8-0, 3-0)

[Anonymous_Falcon_Fan]

If valley is not number one then something is wrong. I'm not sure how the computer points go tho. I could see valley burg in the r19 final. Would things be differnt at a neutral site who knows it would prob be played at Portsmouth.

If they met later in the playoffs, it would probably be @ Jackson's stadium. Very nice venue BTW.

[coop]

If valley is not number one then something is wrong. I'm not sure how the computer points go tho. I could see valley burg in the r19 final. Would things be differnt at a neutral site who knows it would prob be played at Portsmouth.

If they met later in the playoffs, it would probably be @ Jackson's stadium. Very nice venue BTW.

GREAT venue..I went and watched Burg vs. Clearcreek (i think) a few years back...

[sider]

Well, crown the Indians they've done something no one else has done in 9 years, repeat as league champs. I was definitely wrong for doubting them. Hope to see this game again in the playoffs

[Piratefan2]

Very good game Valley!!! Hope we meet again in the play- offs!!! That was a total defensive game on both sides! #17 is a beast for valley!!! Come on Pirates, lets win the next one and go into the play- offs ready to fight and win the region for now then head toward a state victory!!!!

[here4fun]

Well burg did not shut Valley out or beat them by 3 or more Tds it was a great game burg had lots of chances to win and could not pull it if off Great Job Valley one more to go .....!!!!

[Bleeding Red]

Great win by Valley tonight. You made Minford stadium an even happier place when they announced the final score!

[Burg#1]

man what a game , very nice game plans and defenses to counter each other ....and is it just me or did the pirates seem a little tired on the indians last drive ?[/quote]



First off, great game by the Indians. They came ready to play tonight and Burg had there chances to put them away and couldn't do it.

Hell yeah, they were flat wore out. For some reason Burg coaches played that series with 7:00 to go all wrong. Valley had just ran it down Burg's throat and scored and missed the XP giving Burg backa litle momentum and what does Burg do, comes out and runs three straight QB keepers and gives the ball right back to Valley. Not a good call. Defense had no time to rest and it showed.


Looking forward to a rematch in the playoffs.

Exactly right- Burg runs the ball and doesnt pass the ball at all ?- cant understand what happened to the game plan at all- congrats Valley you deserved to win, on a side note the announcer needs a better spotter to help him out- Again congrats Valley and #17 is a beast and a great young man on top of that, who will dominate in baseball this year.

[Izladoom]

This might be the perfect year for the soc in r19. It seems like a very weak year and I have a feeling either burg or valley will make it to state just sucks that the top teams in dv are on a total different level than us.

[lineman7]

My analyis of the game:

I think this was a game between two very equal teams. Valley relies on their size and strength to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage and Wheelersburg relies on their speed and quickness to make big plays running and throwing.

Wheelersburg offense vs. Valley's defense: Valley's defense line did a wonderful job of containing and for the most part shutting down Eddie Miller. Miller still had 80-90 yards rushing and about 70 yards passing. If you asked the Indians if they would take those numbers coming in they would have been estatic. Valley's secondary, considered by most to be the biggest weakness on the defense, play very well, giving up no big pass plays. Valley's secondary was penalized a few times for pass interference and it seems struggled to run with the Wheelersburg recievers on deeper passes. Wheelersburg offensive line did a good job protecting the passer but struggled to open up any running lanes for their runners. I think Wheelersburg's no huddle offense hurt their own players more than it did Valley's, as Wheelersburg's defense was sucking wind most of the 4th quarter.

Valley offense vs Wheelersburg defense: Wheelersburg defense line played great for most of the game, but really wore down in the 4th quarter. Valley rushed 50 times or so for about 200 yards roughly. Wheelersburg's secondary played a great game except for the one play where Valley's QB broke a tackle and found the wide open reciever deep down field. Wheelersburg played every snap of the game with 9 people in the box against the Indians. I think the key to the entire game was the conditioning of the Indians offensive lineman (many who played a lot of snaps on the defensive line too) who seemed to get stronger in the fourth quarter while Wheelersburg weakened in the 4th quarter. Wheelersburg's defensive nose guard was constantly in Valley's backfield and made a lot of hits behind the line of scrimage.

Individual player performances: I think the player of the game was definitely Valley's QB. He played a mistake free game, no turnovers, penalties or mistakes of any kinds. He hit big passes when he needed to, and man he is a hard runner. Valley's size across the board is amazing for a high school team. Eddie Miller for Wheelersburg showed flashes of how good he is, but I think Valley's size up front and their scheme made him less deadly than normal. Wheelersburg's nose tackle played exceptionally well. #17 (Arnett?) for Valley really carried the load, and except for the one fumble out of bounds played an exceptional game on both offense and defense. Valley's LB #25 made several huge hits in the fourth quarter, including the one that forced Wheelersburg to punt the ball back to Valley (It was a BIG hit).

Big moments of the game: Valley stopped Wheelersburg on 4th and goal from the 1 in the first half. Wheelersburg scored on a very well executed option play to their RB #21 in the second quarter after a 20 yard valley punt. Wheelersburg stopped Valley (really the ref on Valley's sideline missed the spot while messing with his flag, he was down between the 1 and 2 not the 4) on their own 4 yard line to end the first half. Valley defense came up with huge stops in the 3rd quarter with Wheelersburg driving in Valley territory. Valley scored in the 4th quarter on a sweep play to #17 Arnett who scored basically untouched (great block by Valley's WR) from 15-20 yards out. The XP was missed (looked like a bad snap was the cause to me). Valley then stopped Wheelersburg on a great tackle by #25 and forced a punt. Valley drove to Wheelersburg 3 yard line where they kicked a FG (freshman kicker who just missed the XP nailed it, would have probably been good from 35+ yards out).

This was a great game between the most equal teams I have seen play in a long time. I have watched Coldwater (the Div 5. favorite for State title) and both Wheelersburg and Valley would give them a very good game. Hopefully Valley will get the #1 seed and Wheelersburg will get the #2 or #3 seed so they can rematch for the Regional Championship!

Last note: Wheelersburg has always been the MOST classy team in this area, but the play after the end of the game was horrible. The player should be suspended for the next game, it was a totally uncalled for hit after the game was completely over and could have seriously injured 2 Valley players.

Congrats to both teams on a well played game and hopefully to playoff success in the near future!

[coop]

This might be the perfect year for the soc in r19. It seems like a very weak year and I have a feeling either burg or valley will make it to state just sucks that the top teams in dv are on a total different level than us.

I wouldnt be so sure..other than Ursuline, this is a VERY even year in D5...I keep up around the state and Coldwater is the favorite...as lineman said. Region 19 teams can play with them.

[yabbadabbadoo]

Really good obversation lineman7. Burg had the matchup with Dylan Miller one on one against 7 for Valley and Burg hardly exploited it.

Burg's offense was very lethargic and waited until the last 44 seconds of the game to really start throwing the ball, with success I might add. If Miller catches that pass at the 20 with 2.6 seconds left, I think Burg tries to kick the FG.


These next few weeks should be interesting. Hopefully Burg can stay in the top 4 and host week 11. Lot of potential long road trips in week 11 due to how crazy the boundary is for region 19.

[Jesco White]

That was an outstanding high school football game. It had an old school smash-mouth feel to it, which fortunately is Valley's style of play. Both teams gave a tremendous effort. I couldn't be any prouder of Bryce Romanello!! I love that kid and I'm so proud of him for having the poise to step up in that situation and handle his business. These kids and this community all believe in each other and it's a pleasure watching them succeed. I really believe the Indians and the Pirates are the best two teams in Region 19, and I hope they get a rematch in the Regional Finals so we get a team to state! They both are capable!!

Best of luck to the Pirates until we hopefully meet again. Way to go Purple!!! You guys earned it tonight!!!

[seasick80]

Other than the last drive, would love to compare the number of passes burg tried vs previous games. Seemed to me we tried to run alot more. Oh well, Congrats to Valley on a very good coached game. U played ur game and ran the ball well. The kids were very good. The Oline was very good. Your QB made the plays when he had to. Burg, let this go! Get back to business and get the Siders next week!!

[Burg_Grad_77]

Congrats to Valley on the win. They outplayed the Burg in the 4th quarter when the game was on the line and deserved the win. I don't understand the 3 straight QB keepers after Valleys TD that went nowhere and didn't get a 1st down or run off time any clock. That was a big turning point in the game.

The one anhd only complaint I have on the officiating was the pass interference on Valley when Burg had 4th down that was waved off. That was a big wave off and the Burg would have had excellent field posistion. I don't understand why it was waved off when the reciever was bumped before the ball got there.

Hope to see the Indians again in the playoffs.

[lineman7]

Congrats to Valley on the win. They outplayed the Burg in the 4th quarter when the game was on the line and deserved the win. I don't understand the 3 straight QB keepers after Valleys TD that went nowhere and didn't get a 1st down or run off time any clock. That was a big turning point in the game.

The one anhd only complaint I have on the officiating was the pass interference on Valley when Burg had 4th down that was waved off. That was a big wave off and the Burg would have had excellent field posistion. I don't understand why it was waved off when the reciever was bumped before the ball got there.

Hope to see the Indians again in the playoffs.

The pass interference was killed when Valley's defensive lineman pushed Wheelersburg's offensive lineman, who is not an eligible receiver and thus can't be interfered with. The refs missed a horrible intentional grounding call on that same play that cost valley 20 yards in field position. The ball never got close to the line of scrimmage...

[seasick80]

Is there a rule of being out of the pocket in high school sports? If so, he was out by a yard or two. Still a bad throw. But i think it went passed the LOS.

[seasick80]

Just looked at the Portsmouth time pic of the game. Alil facemask? LOL!! What a great game. again, we tried per the Ptown newspaper, under 30 passes this game. Oh well, great job by the valley offense and defense!!

[lineman7]

Region 19 points updated on Joe Eitel's site... looks like Valley bumped to #1 with the win

[lineman7]

Looks like both Wheelersburg and Valley have locked in a playoff spot! Congrats to both teams!

[starbase_318]

Congrats Indians! You proved me wrong and I'm happy for it.