Valwood too much for Westwood

CAMILLA — The Valwood Valiants used their bigger size and deeper lineup to wear down the Westwood Wildcats and blow open a close game late to take home a 34-12 win Thursday night at Centennial Stadium.

Neither team used a long drive to score during the game, as all touchdowns were scored quickly and on big plays.

The win puts Valwood at 6-1, while the Wildcats are now 4-4.

Penalties and missed opportunities also kept the Valiants from building a bigger lead with three touchdowns called back because of holding penalties. They also lost a fumble at the five-yard line in the fourth quarter after a long pass play. Those mistakes kept the Wildcats close until the end when their own penalties and injuries helped the Valiants open a big lead.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but Valwood got on the board first on the second play from scrimmage in the second quarter. Senior tailback Jack Helms put together two long runs and scored from 23 yards out to give the Valiants their first touchdown.

The Wildcats still couldn’t get the offense rolling against the big Valwood defense, but Tyler Lowe put Westwood on the scoreboard when he intercepted a pass from Valwood’s Jacob Parker and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. Valwood blocked the extra point kick and kept their lead at 7-6.

Helms added another touchdown for Valwood before the half on a 38-yard run that gave the Valiants a 14-6 lead going into the intermission.

It looked liked Valwood was going to add more points but a 73-yard touchdown pass was called back on a holding penalty. Valwood was hit with four holding penalties in the second quarter alone.

But they weren’t the only ones.

Westwood quarterback Collier Baggett connected on a pass to Reid Ford who took the ball all the way down to the two yard line. But, the play came back on a holding call.

In the third quarter, the Valiants stretched their lead to 21-6 with a 75-yard touchdown run by Sam Martin, but the Wildcats did not quit.

Baggett hit fellow senior Kevin Hall with a short pass in the middle of the field and Hall took it 63 yards for the score. The two-point pass play was knocked away.

Valwood didn’t stop.

On the next series, Parker took the ball 61 yards for another Valiant TD and put the score at 28-12 at the end of the third quarter. He also had a 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the last Valiant touchdown.

The Wildcats will celebrate homecoming next Friday night at Centennial Stadium when they host Southland.