Shawnee Succumbs To Spartan Defense
Germantown, OH — One thing can be said about the 2001 Homecoming game. It was wet. That didn't stop the Valley View Spartans from rolling to their seventh win of the season with a 42-0 shutout over the Preble Shawnee Arrows.
The Spartans started the night off right with a 34-yard kick off return by Sr. DB Michael Whaley. Whaley took the ball from the Spartan 15 and danced to midfield before a shoestring tackle stopped an almost apparent TD return at Valley View's 49-yard line. A 17-yard run by So. RB Brock Bolen and a 34-yard run by Sr. RB Tim Shope got the Spartans on the scoreboard with less than 1:30 into the game.
Shope would score again in the second half on a of 53-yard scamper giving him 104 yards on the evening and all but sealing the Arrows fate. Bolen, who ranks seventh in rushing in the Miami Valley, added his 12th touchdown of the season early in the second half and finished the night off with 55 yards on 16 carries.
It was that passing combination of QB Drew Smith to So. Teddy Beuhner (BEE-NER, get it right TV guys) that gave the Spartan fans something to cheer about. Beuhner grab TD passes of 14 and 53 yards, both by out manuevering the defender who twice fell on the rain soaked field, to leave the young receiver wide open.
The Spartan defense recorded its third shutout of the season stopping the Arrow's offense in virtually every category. Shawnee could only muster 4 yards in the second half giving them a paltry 111 yards of total offense. Three missed scoring opportunities in first half, all deep within the red zone, cost the Arrows and certainly forced the momentum each time in Valley View's favor.
Coupled with their failure to capitalize on fourth downs, missed field goals, three turnovers, and five quarterback sacks, the Arrow's drop to 0-2 in the division and 5-2 overall and will also certainly drop them out of the top 8 teams in Division 3 Region 12 rankings.
The Spartans go for back-to-back wins at home when they take on the Eaton Eagles next week. The Eagles fell to Bellbrook 35-3 in week 7, coming off a big win over Shawnee the week before.
Eaton's had a rocky season up to this point. With an opening win against Oxford Talawanda, 16-8, they came back in week 2 to get crushed by Brookville, 32-0. Then in lightning delayed week 3, they could only produce a safety against the then 2-0 Dixie Greyhounds. Obviously a lot of defense in that outing. Carlisle thrashed them in week 4, 41-14 before walking into Northridge to get their only decisive win of the season against the winless Polar Bears. Their matchup against undefeatd Shawnee was their best performance of the season.
But that was then and this is know. Any given Friday....blah, blah, blah. Just so happens that it won't be this Friday. The Spartans are beginning to gel into a more cohesive offensive unit. While defenses are keying on Bolen, for the obvious reasons, Shope, Byrd, Gonzolez and Buehner are running right by them. And anyone of them is dangerous as a receiver.
The Spartan defense continues to be as quick and as strong and as determined as ever. With that in mind, our valiant predictors just handed us this weeks prediction tabulations....Valley View 53, Eaton......0.
