Glendale Makes Most of Valley Gifts for 17-10 Victory

There were no surprises Saturday night in the Western State Conference football game between Valley and Glendale.

The teams, among the elite in the WSC, played a game that was predictably even.

In the end, however, Glendale took advantage of what it was given while Valley failed to capitalize on a number of breaks, and the Vaqueros came away with a 17-10 win at Valley.

Valley kicker Jim Harper kicked a 57-yard field goal midway through the third quarter that made the score 17-10. Valley, however, blew 2 consecutive opportunities after fumble recoveries.

“We all knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Glendale running back Doug Dragomer, who rushed for a game-high 173 yards in 23 carries. “Our defense tightened up great for us.”

Glendale (5-0, 4-0 in conference play) gained 406 yards in offense and limited Valley (3-2, 3-1) to 240.

Glendale led, 17-7, at halftime on touchdowns by running back Sean Hampton and a field goal by David Bowen.

The Vaqueros took advantage of their first opportunity when defensive back Brian Miller recovered a Roman Carter fumble on the Valley 40-yard line with 13:57 left in the first quarter.

Hampton, who rushed for 83 yards in 20 carries, set up the touchdown with a 37-yard halfback-option pass to Pat Lynch and Hampton scored a play later on a 2-yard run over right tackle.

Valley then wasted a chance after recovering a fumble on its own 44 with 3:09 left in the first quarter. Carter, who led Valley with 103 yards in 20 carries, took a handoff and ran to the Glendale 19. But on the next play, running back Jomo Gordon fumbled and Glendale’s Andres Washington recovered.

Valley got the ball back on its own 39 with 1:07 left in the first quarter and tied the score with a 61-yard, 7-play drive. The drive was capped when quarterback Todd Studer rolled to his left and delivered a 14-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Davis with 12:46 left in the half.

Glendale, however, answered with an 88-yard, 15-play touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. The drive was aided by 2 key Valley penalties that helped Glendale to a first-and-goal situation at the 7.

Hampton ran the ball in from a yard out with 6:26 left in the half to give the Vaqueros the lead. Bowen’s 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds to go concluded the first-half scoring.