'Ridge Blanks Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MENTONE - It had been 13 years since Valley last played Northridge. That night, the Vikings knocked off the Raiders 27-8.
It may be another 13 years until Valley wants another shot at Northridge after the Raiders shut out Valley 17-0 in a sectional semifinal on Friday.
Coaches often talk about turnovers being the key to a football game. Although the Vikings did not have any in the opening half, a number of penalties cost Valley in much the same way that turnovers would.
Northridge put together a 15-play, 84-yard drive that started with 5:16 to play in the first quarter and ended 38 seconds into the second after quarterback Jody Weldy kept the option around end for an 8-yard score. On the extra point attempt, Northridge and Valley exchanged five-yard penalties before Valley's James Dawson broke through the line and blocked the extra point to keep the score 6-0.
That's when the trouble began.
The Vikings drove to the Northridge 23-yard line on the next series, but got an illegal block call on first-and-10 that pushed Valley backwards. The Vikings could not recover from that and Brandon Eaton threw an incompletion on fourth-and-15 to hand the ball back to Northridge.
After Northridge went three-and-out, Valley drove to the Northridge 25-yard line and had a third-and-two. However, a holding penalty pushed the Vikings back again and Valley could not convert on a fourth-and-7 from the 30-yard line.
Still leading 6-0 with 2:08 to play in the half, Northridge took over and began to drive. On first-and-10 at the 23-yard line, Valley was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while both teams were lined up and ready to begin the next play. That moved the Raiders to the 12-yard line and helped set up a 25-yard field goal by Don Klotz that made the score 9-0 at the half.
"Penalties killed us in the first half," Valley head coach Scott Bibler said. "That's going to kill any team, especially in playoff time. We had some things going our way and then we were hurt by some penalties."
In the second half, Valley put together some more drives, but those were all thwarted as well.
Midway through the third period, the Vikings had a fourth-and-four at the Northridge 29-yard line, but Anthony Simpson was tackled two yards behind the line of scrimmage to stop a drive.
On another third quarter drive, Valley had a first-and-10 at the Northridge 30-yard line and Simpson broke through the line for a 7-yard gain. However, he was stripped of the ball, and Northridge's Derek Miller recovered to keep the shutout alive.
In the fourth quarter, Valley had a fourth-and-four at the Northridge 40, but Eric Prater was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. On the next possession, Kurt Beier scored from 49 yards out and Weldy ran in a two-point conversion to make it 17-0. Valley could not put another drive together as Northridge ran out the clock.
Valley actually had 32 more yards than Northridge for the game 258-226 and both teams had 13 first downs. However, when a team needed a big play, the Raiders got it and Valley didn't. The Vikings were an abysmal 4-of-18 on third and fourth down conversions and that is where Valley was hurt.
"I'm disappointed," Bibler said. "(Northridge) started smelling victory and when you're a 1-8 team, it's a precious feeling to have. Their record does not indicate how good they are, especially in (the Northern Lakes Conference). With (Northridge head coach Frank Amato's) experience and you give a coach like that two weeks to prepare, it showed."
Bibler felt that the week off helped the Raiders immensely.
"When you have two weeks to prepare for a team, you really have a lot of opportunities to get your team to know the other team inside and out," Bibler said.
"They had a nice defensive plan. There were times when we were able to move the ball, but when we got moving we broke down somewhere."
Valley ends the season with a record of 5-6 and 4-3 in the TRC.
Northridge improves to 2-8, breaking its seven-game losing streak, and will advance to the sectional championship at Northridge against NorthWood on Friday. [[In-content Ad]]
MENTONE - It had been 13 years since Valley last played Northridge. That night, the Vikings knocked off the Raiders 27-8.
It may be another 13 years until Valley wants another shot at Northridge after the Raiders shut out Valley 17-0 in a sectional semifinal on Friday.
Coaches often talk about turnovers being the key to a football game. Although the Vikings did not have any in the opening half, a number of penalties cost Valley in much the same way that turnovers would.
Northridge put together a 15-play, 84-yard drive that started with 5:16 to play in the first quarter and ended 38 seconds into the second after quarterback Jody Weldy kept the option around end for an 8-yard score. On the extra point attempt, Northridge and Valley exchanged five-yard penalties before Valley's James Dawson broke through the line and blocked the extra point to keep the score 6-0.
That's when the trouble began.
The Vikings drove to the Northridge 23-yard line on the next series, but got an illegal block call on first-and-10 that pushed Valley backwards. The Vikings could not recover from that and Brandon Eaton threw an incompletion on fourth-and-15 to hand the ball back to Northridge.
After Northridge went three-and-out, Valley drove to the Northridge 25-yard line and had a third-and-two. However, a holding penalty pushed the Vikings back again and Valley could not convert on a fourth-and-7 from the 30-yard line.
Still leading 6-0 with 2:08 to play in the half, Northridge took over and began to drive. On first-and-10 at the 23-yard line, Valley was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while both teams were lined up and ready to begin the next play. That moved the Raiders to the 12-yard line and helped set up a 25-yard field goal by Don Klotz that made the score 9-0 at the half.
"Penalties killed us in the first half," Valley head coach Scott Bibler said. "That's going to kill any team, especially in playoff time. We had some things going our way and then we were hurt by some penalties."
In the second half, Valley put together some more drives, but those were all thwarted as well.
Midway through the third period, the Vikings had a fourth-and-four at the Northridge 29-yard line, but Anthony Simpson was tackled two yards behind the line of scrimmage to stop a drive.
On another third quarter drive, Valley had a first-and-10 at the Northridge 30-yard line and Simpson broke through the line for a 7-yard gain. However, he was stripped of the ball, and Northridge's Derek Miller recovered to keep the shutout alive.
In the fourth quarter, Valley had a fourth-and-four at the Northridge 40, but Eric Prater was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. On the next possession, Kurt Beier scored from 49 yards out and Weldy ran in a two-point conversion to make it 17-0. Valley could not put another drive together as Northridge ran out the clock.
Valley actually had 32 more yards than Northridge for the game 258-226 and both teams had 13 first downs. However, when a team needed a big play, the Raiders got it and Valley didn't. The Vikings were an abysmal 4-of-18 on third and fourth down conversions and that is where Valley was hurt.
"I'm disappointed," Bibler said. "(Northridge) started smelling victory and when you're a 1-8 team, it's a precious feeling to have. Their record does not indicate how good they are, especially in (the Northern Lakes Conference). With (Northridge head coach Frank Amato's) experience and you give a coach like that two weeks to prepare, it showed."
Bibler felt that the week off helped the Raiders immensely.
"When you have two weeks to prepare for a team, you really have a lot of opportunities to get your team to know the other team inside and out," Bibler said.
"They had a nice defensive plan. There were times when we were able to move the ball, but when we got moving we broke down somewhere."
Valley ends the season with a record of 5-6 and 4-3 in the TRC.
Northridge improves to 2-8, breaking its seven-game losing streak, and will advance to the sectional championship at Northridge against NorthWood on Friday. [[In-content Ad]]