Tri-Valley was the only Schuylkill League team to push back the start of their fall sports season. Compared to every other team’s 6-8 games, the Dawgs only played 4, going 3-1. They had yet to face off with familiar District XI foe Nativity BVM. The second seeded Bulldogs of Tri-Valley and third seeded Green Wave of Nativity BVM faced off in the District XI 1A semifinals. The bulldog defense was in full force Friday, as Tri-Valley limited a high powered Nativity Green Wave offense to 14 points and 134 total yards. Despite losing senior captain and star running back/linebacker Chase Herb early in the second quarter, the young Dawgs picked up the slack and put pressure on Nativity quarterback Cody Miller all night.
Tri-Valley started their first drive from their own 35 yard line after the opening kickoff flew out of bounds. Behind a healthy dosage of Chase Herb runs, he capped off the 2 minute drive with a 3 yard plunge into the end zone. Jay Wilcox’ extra point was blocked, and the score remained 6-0 early in the ballgame. Nativity had nothing going on their first few drives and were forced to punt once, and late in the first quarter Cody Miller was picked off by Tri-Valley freshman Layne Yoder. Quarterback Jonas McGrath finished off the short drive with a touchdown run. A two point conversion completion to Layne Yoder expanded their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. Chase Herb did not play during this series and eventually the entire rest of the game with a hamstring injury. An already young squad, Tri-Valley called on sophomores Kameron Wetzel and Reese Huntzinger to answer the call.
Nativity stayed resilient and composed, and answered with a long drive and 3 yard touchdown run by Cody Miller. Miller added his own extra point and cut the lead down to 14-7. On their ensuing drive, Tri-Valley marched down the field and got a key 4th down conversion run by McGrath which set up a Kameron Wetzel 5 yard touchdown. Jay Wilcox added the extra point and put the Dawgs up 21-7. Nativity got the ball back once more before halftime, and with the aid of a pass interference call and unsportsmanlike conduct call on Tri-Valley Head Coach Jeff Sampson, they drove deep into Tri-Valley territory. Without any timeouts though, a snap sailed over Cody Miller’s head and he scrambled for his life and was taken down as time expired for the end of the first half.
The third quarter was a tale of defensive stops, as both teams traded possessions back and forth. Big games by Nativity linebackers Stephan Spolski and Jake Hoffman kept them in the game despite the Wave’s offensive troubles. Nativity was driving late in the third quarter before Layne Yoder picked off Miller for the second time. Nativity halted the bulldog drive and got the ball back late in the third quarter. Attempting to convert on a key 3rd down play, Cody Miller was dropped for a big loss by sophomores Jacob Scheib and Jolten Flory. Early in the 4th quarter Jonas McGrath connected with Jolten Flory for a diving catch in the end zone for a bulldog touchdown. Wilcox’ extra point was good and Tri Valley led 28-7 with ten minutes to go in the game. Nativity would add another score on a 37 yard connection from Cody Miller to Keegan Brennan to seal the final score at 28-14. Tri Valley will advance to the District XI 1A championship against backyard rival Williams Valley, 27-22 winners over Mahanoy Area. The game will take place on Friday night at 7:00 at North Schuylkill’s Ghosh Orthodontics Field.
