Two touchdowns from freshman tailback help Valley rally past Chaparral

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 | midnight

The Valley High football team closed the game Friday with 20 unanswered points in a 27-24 victory against host Chaparral.

“Our kids hung in there and we had a couple of kids make some big plays,” Valley coach Marcus Sherman said.

The biggest play came midway through the fourth quarter with Valley trailing 24-20 and Chaparral driving inside the Vikings 15-yard line. That’s when Erik Edmonds intercepted a pass and returned it to inside the Chaparral 20.

Moments later, Anthony Sanders connected with Eric Burrell for the winning touchdown with minutes to play.

Freshman Dillard Davis, a 5-foot-6 running back, led Valley (3-4 overall, 3-2 Northeast) with a pair of rushing touchdowns. “He proved he can carry the load by himself as a freshman,” Sherman said.

Chaparral, which has just one win this season, didn’t play like a struggling team, Sherman said. The Cowboys ran the Wildcat formation offensively with junior running back Antonio Thomas tough for the Valley defense to contain.

“Chap came out with guns blazing,” Sherman said. They got us off guard with (Thomas). That kid is tough.”