Valley upends Rancho, earns playoff spot

Valley football coach John Elwell needed a couple of miracles Thursday, and he got them.

Elwell sent his players into Thursday’s game at Rancho knowing the Vikings had to win and Northeast League rival Eldorado had to lose in order for his team to earn the division’s final postseason berth.

Quarterback Kerwynn Williams rushed 31 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns, helping Valley upset the Rams, 41-33.
Eldorado, meanwhile, fell to Las Vegas in its must-win game.

Thanks to Thursday’s win, the Vikings finished in a three-way tie with Eldorado and Chaparral. Valley, however, was awarded the playoff berth based on tiebreaker rules and will play at Basic on Nov. 7 in the first round.

“We made the playoffs,” Elwell said. “And we’re pumped. That’s what we came here to do tonight.”

Valley (5-5, 2-4 Northeast) established momentum early, using a touchdown run by Williams and two more by Malcom Wilks to build a 21-7 halftime lead.

But Rancho quarterback James Cammack, who completed 22 of 47 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns, took over in the second half.

Though the Rams (5-5, 4-2) trailed 34-7 midway through the third quarter, Cammack led several quick scoring drives down the stretch and helped close the gap to 41-33 on a pair of TD passes to Dijon Holman (178 yards on eight receptions) in the fourth quarter.

But Valley’s defense finally broke the Rams’ string of three consecutive scoring drives with a key stop late in the fourth, and the Vikings were able to run out the clock.

“You’ve got to play defense in football,” Elwell said. “And we played defense tonight.”