Valley finds it crowded at top

Steve Cunningham

Thursday, Oct. 9, 1997 | 12:57 p.m.

A couple of fumbles here. An interception there. Untimely penalties. Missed tackles. It was downright ugly for Valley last Friday.

Those are the kinds of things you expect to see early in a football season, not during week six. But all of those calamities hit the Vikings against Rancho and as a result, Valley found itself on the short end of a 42-32 count.

Gone is the solo spot on top of the Sunrise Division. Now, there are four teams tied for first and Rancho, lurking just out of the playoff picture, a game back.

So it's back to the drawing board for Valley (4-2, 3-1) and coach Greg Murphy.

"We've had to get back to basics this week and work from ground zero," Murphy said. "We gave (Rancho) opportunities in the game and to their credit, they took advantage of them. We can't turn the ball over like we did and win ballgames."

Tonight's foe -- Chaparral (3-3, 3-1) -- has won three games in a row and lit up a pretty decent Basic defense for 50 points last week. Cowboys' running back Mario Hagan rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns against the Wolves while quarterback Tyson Dobbs ran for one and three for two more.

Victories add up to confidence and Murphy knows his team is in for a battle with the resurgent Cowboys.

"(Dobbs) poses a big threat," Murphy said. "He can do a lot of things. He's a game-breaker. They are a balanced ball club, can run and throw it. We're going to have to play real sound football against them."

Thanks to Rancho's surprise of Valley, every Sunrise contest tonight is a big one. Other games in the division include Rancho (2-3, 2-2) at Silverado (2-4, 0-4), Eldorado (2-4, 1-3) at Las Vegas (4-2, 3-1) and Basic (2-4, 1-3) at Green Valley (5-1, 3-1).

The Chaparral-Valley loser will be tied for the final Sunrise playoff spot if Rancho wins at Silverado and no other upsets occur. Despite last week's loss, Murphy is still confident of his team's chances.

"We control our own destiny," he said. "We like to have the ball in our hands."

Over in the Sunset Division, the four playoff spots are about locked up. Clark (2-4, 1-3) has to upset Cheyenne (5-1, 3-0) tonight, then beat Bonanza in its finale two weeks from now, plus, hope that Durango loses its final three games. The Trailblazers (4-2, 2-1) travel to Cimarron-Memorial (5-1, 3-1) tonight.

Western (5-1, 3-0) hits the road for a battle with Bishop Gorman (1-5, 0-3) and Bonanza is idle.