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West Valley defeats East Valley, secures share of Great Northern League title

West Valley’s Conner Whitney (12) bats the last-second jump ball away from East Valley wide receiver Rodrick Fisher during the first half Friday at East Valley High. (James Snook / For the SR)
West Valley’s Conner Whitney (12) bats the last-second jump ball away from East Valley wide receiver Rodrick Fisher during the first half Friday at East Valley High. (James Snook / For the SR)
By Steve Christilaw steve.christilaw@gmail.com

Connor Whitney played center field for the undefeated West Valley Eagles all night long Friday at East Valley.

Anchoring his team’s defensive backfield, he and his teammates were acutely aware of who they faced from the rival Knights: Rodrick Fisher, the fastest sprinter in the state who had just been picked to play in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl once the season is over.

“We had to know where he was the whole game,” Whitney said. “I think our defensive backs played a great game – we covered them and when they got the ball, we wrapped them up. I give our coaches a lot of credit for the game plan they had for us.”

And when the Knights desperately need a big play from Fisher and quarterback Christian Johnson found just enough time to air the football out, Whitney had the angle, slid in front of the 6-foot-2 Fisher and made the interception that ended any hope of an East Valley comeback and sealed a 28-12 victory that not only gave the Eagles the win over their rival but also secured a share of the Great Northern League title with one game left to play.

“It’s been a while since we’ve played a whole game here,” Whitney’s father, WV coach Craig Whitney said. “A couple years ago we only played a half – we played the second half at our place!”

West Valley (8-0, 3-0) used a punishing running game to grab the lead in the first quarter, then feed it with three second-half touchdowns.

“Our backs ran hard all game long,” quarterback Blake Transue said. “We had a goal coming in to get 200 yards rushing. I’m pretty sure we got there.”

Fullback Marshall Meleney finished with more than 100 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns for the Eagles.

Transue spearheaded the run game with an array of keepers that kept the EV defense on the lookout. Finding time to pass was another story. Twice the Eagles were stalled in their territory when Transue was chased down and sacked for a big loss.

Leading 7-6 at intermission, the Eagles got a huge turnover on EV’s first possession of the second half.

Minutes after Fisher was helped off the field with an injury that saw him miss a couple of series, Johnson fired a long pass to Tallon Watson that set up a Knights first down at the WV 11. Johnson went right back to Watson, who made the catch at the goal line but was flagged for offensive pass interference. And on fourth down, Johnson scrambled out of the backfield and backhanded a shovel pass that was picked off by Meleney.

The Eagles marched 72 yards for a touchdown, a 10-yard sweep by Collin Sather that made it 14-6.

Even with Fisher back in the game in the fourth quarter, EV (3-4, 2-1) found little time to throw the ball, let alone throw deep.

WV’s Scott Bray collected four sacks for the second straight game, giving 14 1/2 for the season.

“And he was being held all night long,” his coach added. “We didn’t get a single holding call, but he still did a great job getting off the block and making plays.”