Strong second half sends Symmes Valley into playoffs
Published 12:00 am Sunday, October 30, 2005
BRANCHLAND, W.Va. - Down at halftime in a must-win situation? Who you gonna call?
Seniors.
The Symmes Valley Vikings found themselves in such a predicament Friday, so head coach Rusty Webb challenged his seniors in the locker room.
“I told them it was up to them if they wanted to play another week or call it a career now,” Webb said. “We made a couple of adjustments and the kids did the rest.”
The Vikings outscored the Guyan Valley Wildcats 28-to-16 in the second half to erase the 12-7 halftime deficit and post a 35-28 win.
Symmes Valley finished 7-3 with the win and will be sixth in the final computer ratings of Region 23 in Division VI. The Vikings will play at Shadyside at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“I'll take 7-3 and go to the playoffs,” Webb said.
Guyan Valley (5-4) took a 6-0 lead on a 13-yard pass from Jacob Lucas to Cody Nelson.
In the second quarter, a shanked punt gave the Vikings the ball at the Guyan Valley 25 and three plays later Derek Carpenter scored on a 16-yard run. Kyle Meadows kick the conversion and it was 7-6.
But for the second week in a row, the Vikings opponent scored on the last play of the half. This time, Lucas hit Brandon Frazier with a 13-yard pass to cap an eight-play, 56-yard drive and it was 12-7 at the half.
Symmes Valley outscored the Wildcats 13-0 in the third quarter to take a 20-12 lead.
Carpenter ran 32 yards to put the finishing touches on a 70-yard march. Meadows then returned an interception to the 5-yard line and set up a 4-yard run by Chris Capper. Meadows added the conversion kick with 6:43 on the clock.
The lead grew to 27-12 to start the fourth quarter when Matt Owens ran 2 yards for a touchdown. Meadows again kicked the point after.
The Wildcats scored against on a 25-yard run by Kenneth Nelson and the conversion pass cut the deficit to 27-20.
But it was Carpenter who bailed the Vikings out again with a 26-yard scoring run with 4:46 to play that padded the lead. He also ran for the conversion and it was 35-20.
Lucas hit Cody Nelson with a 19-yard pass and then Frazier caught the conversion pass to make it 35-28.
Owens recovered the onside kickoff and the Vikings ran out the clock to preserve the win.
“Owens' contributions did show up in the boxscore,” Webb said. “Our seniors did an excellent job in the second half. Our offensive line and our backs did an excellent job.
“Derek Carpenter had a monster game. Seth Saunders didn't have the carries but did a nice job blocking. Matt Owens ran inside well and that opened up the outside. You rush for 400 yards, your line is doing a good job.”
Carpenter, a senior, had a season-high 250 yards rushing on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns. Owens, also a senior, had 95 yards on 13 attempts.
The Vikings racked up 389 yards on the ground and 402 total yards to 235 for the Wildcats.
Symmes Valley071315=35
Guyan Valley66016=28
First Quarter
GV – Cody Nelson 13 pass from Jacob Lucas (run failed) 7:17
Second Quarter
SV – Derek Carpenter 16 run (Kyle Meadows kick) 0:53
GV – Brandon Frazier 13 pass from Jacob Lucas (run failed) 0:00
Third Quarter
SV – Derek Carpenter 32 run (kick failed) 9:52
SV – Chris Capper 4 run (Kyle Meadows kick) 6:43
Fourth Quarter
SV – Matt Owens 2 run (Kyle Meadows kick) 11:30 10-56
GV – Kenneth Nelson 25 run (Frazier pass from Lucas) 8:40
SV – Derek Carpenter 26 run (Derek Carpenter run) 4:46 7-80
GV – Cody Nelson 19 pass from Jacob Lucas (Frazier from Lucas) 3:27
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SVGV
First downs1912
Rushes-yards49-38934-66
Passing yards13169
Total yards402235
Cmp-Att-Int1-2-012-26-1
Fumbles-lost2-22-0
Penalties-yards7-705-40
Punts-average1.29.05-31.0
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Individual Leaders
RUSHING – Symmes Valley: Derek Carpenter 24-250, Matt Owens 13-95, Seth Saunders 2-7, Chris Capper 10-37; Guyan Valley: Cody Nelson 14-74, Brandon Frazier 2-14, Jeremy Nelson 5-9, Jacob Lucas 12-minus 35.
PASSING – Symmes Valley: Chris Capper 1-2-0 13; Guyan Valley: Lucas 12-26-1 169
RECEIVING – Symmes Valley: Seth Saunders 1-13; Guyan Valley: Brandon Frazier 6-60, Cody Nelson 3-48.