Green Valley flies past Falcons with no-huddle attack

After surrendering a touchdown  in the game’ opening drive, Green Valley scored 36 unanswered points en route to a 43-14 victory over Foothill in the Division I Sunrise Region quarterfinals.

The Falcons marched down the field using the no-huddle offense to take control early. Rickey Dixon scored from the Gators 1-yard line to put Foothill up 7-0.

“They put it up on us early but our kids responded well,” said Green Valley coach Brian Castro. “We expected them to come out and give us a fight and they did.”

The Gators held the Falcons in check the rest of the first half, scoring 29 straight points to head into halftime with a 29-7 lead. Green Valley wore down Foothill’s defense by implementing the no- huddle offense for the remainder of the game.

“We’ve run no-huddle all year long. It’s what we do,” Castro said. “We try to play fast and the kids love it.”

The Gators were led by quarterback Christian Lopez, who threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 23 passing.

“I thought our receivers did a great job tonight,” Lopez said. “In the second half, we picked up the blitzes and overall it was a good team win.”

Green Valley applied heavy pressure on Foothill quarterback Jalen Shepard the entire night, as their defense recorded six sacks, two forced fumbles, a safety and an interception.

“We knew they were going to throw the ball and we coached that this week,” Castro said. “We got some kids that like to rush the passer and it really worked out in our favor.”

Shepard connected with Jordan Primo for a 60-yard touchdown in the third quarter to pull Foothill within 22 points, but it would be the last time the Falcons scored in the game.

Gio Hernandez added another touchdown for the Gators on a 52-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to cap Green Valley’s scoring.

“They’re a good football team and they put their kids in the right spots to win,” Castro said. “Thank God we came out on top.”