Late score sends Eldorado over Valley

Amanda Finnegan

The Valley Vikings set up for a play in the first quarter on Friday night.

By Hepi Mita (contact)

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008 | 12:35 a.m.

With 3.6 seconds on the clock and 12 yards to the end zone, the fate of the Eldorado–Valley football game lay in the hands of Eldorado quarterback JaQuorrey Williams.

The score was 27-21 in favor of Valley, but after Williams drove his team from its own 2-yard line to the Valley 12, Eldorado had a chance to steal a crucial road game from its Sunrise Northeast division rivals.

The ball was snapped, Williams tossed a pass to receiver Charles White in the end zone, White out-jumped his defender, snatched the ball out of the air and tied the game 27-27 with no time on the clock.

It was then up to kicker Adad Diaz, who had missed a 35-yard field goal before halftime. This time around, the kick was good and Eldorado stunned Valley, 28-27.

“We gave up some big plays here and there and things looked kind of bleak,” Eldorado coach Leon Evans said. “But the kids never gave up and we fought to the very end. That’s playing four quarters of football.”

Eldorado did, indeed, give up some big plays.

Valley’s opening score came after recovering an Eldorado fumble on the 39-yard line. The Valley offense quickly drove the ball to the 1, where 210-pound running back Malcolm Wilks punched the ball into the end zone to make the score 7-0.

Eldorado’s offense fought back, with backs DeAndre Smith and Tone Gatewood setting up a 4-yard touchdown scramble by Williams to tie the game.

Not to be outdone, Valley quarterback Kerwynn Williams came out on the ensuing possession with a point to prove. After driving to the 44-yard line, he ran a play action fake to Wilks. However, Eldorado was not fooled and there were two defensive linemen closing in on Williams. He reacted by running through the middle of the line and showing off his agility, setting up blocks and dodging four would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone, making the score 14-7.

The game looked like it was going to be a shoot out when Eldorado came right back with a 64-yard touchdown run from Smith, who seemed to glide through the Vikings defense. The score was tied going into the second quarter.

The Eldorado defense managed to stop the Vikings on third-and-10 after Valley came away with a Sun Devil fumble. Valley punter and backup quarterback Gidion Tefasi came onto the field, lined up to punt, then passed to receiver Mitchell Deas for 16 yards. That set up a 6-yard touchdown-scoring run by Wilks to put the Vikings ahead, 21-14, with 5:36 left in the half. Wilks finished with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 17 rushes.

Eldorado hung with the Vikings. A 28-yard run by Smith set up a Williams 12-yard touchdown scramble, tying the game at 21 at the half.

In the third quarter with neither team finding success offensively, Kerwynn Williams scrambled to his right and burned the Sun Devil containment on his way to a 46-yard touchdown scramble, but the extra point was no good after a busted play.

Eldorado then drove the ball to the Viking 1-yard line but fumbled in the end zone. Eldorado’s defense held, but the offense couldn't take advantage after three consecutive sacks.

The defense then held a second time after Wilks managed 9 yards in three runs.

JaQuorrey Williams finished with six passes out of 10 attempts for 136 yards and a touchdown. He also scored two rushing touchdowns.