Spring Valley finishes strong in blowout of Shadow Ridge

All week long, the Spring Valley football team’s coaching staff emphasized one thing to its players.

“Finish the football game,” Grizzlies coach Kelly Murphy said.

On Friday night against host Shadow Ridge, that’s exactly what the Grizzlies did.

Senior running back Jacques Adams rushed for a career-high 286 yards and four touchdowns as No. 10 Spring Valley erupted for 40 points after halftime to beat the Mustangs 52-10 in a nonleague game at Ray DePalma Field.

“We started off pretty slow,” Adams said. “But we picked it up in the second half.”

Adams had 166 yards in the first half, thanks in large part to an 85-yard touchdown run with 2:48 remaining in the second quarter. But Spring Valley (2-0) led just 12-0 at the break.

The Grizzlies committed six penalties and fumbled twice, including once at the Shadow Ridge goal line, in the opening 24 minutes.

It was such an unusual first half that Spring Valley offensive lineman Steve Haunga had an 11-yard reception after quarterback Anton Stallworth’s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage.

“For the most part in the first half we shot ourselves in the foot,” Murphy said. “We came out real slow and real lethargic. One thing I like, though, is we finished the game.”

The Grizzlies got an immediate jolt to start the second half as Adams bolted 70 yards on the first play from scrimmage to put Spring Valley up 18-0.

Spring Valley’s massive offensive line eventually wore down the undersized Mustangs (1-2).

The Grizzlies finished with 433 yards on the ground.

“He’s a gifted kid and he works hard in practice,” Murphy said of Adams, who also scored on runs of 7 and 4 yards. “Our offensive line opens up some pretty good holes. You saw him running the way he did because the offensive line did (its) job.”

Shadow Ridge’s Zach Hill finished with 228 yards on 16 carries, including a 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that came after the Grizzlies broke the game open early in the fourth quarter.

Backup running back A.J. Millican went in from 1 yard out for a 32-3 Spring Valley advantage. On the ensuing kickoff, Jacob Bodine scooped up a fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to make it 39-3.

“What it really came down to is fundamentals,” Shadow Ridge coach Gabe Gledhill said. “He (Adams) is elusive and he made some people miss. When you have a good back like that you can’t rely on arm tackles. You have to wrap up and finish the tackle.”

Shadow Ridge battled in the first half, but the Grizzlies’ bend-but-don’t-break defense was able to bail out its mistake-prone offense.

A fumble recovery deep in Shadow Ridge territory set up Adams’ first score. In all, the Mustangs saw four first-half drives stall in Spring Valley territory, missing two field goals and turning the ball over on downs twice.

“We played those guys tough in the first half,” Gledhill said. “We moved the football well, but we’ve got to finish and put the ball in the end zone.”