Wyoming Rally Stops Short
Mason, OH (November 7, 2003) In an almost annual meeting, the Valley View Spartans and the Wyoming Cowboys battled it out in Regional Semi-final action at magnificent Dwire Stadium in Mason, Ohio, Friday night. The Spartans walked away with the 34-26 victory and move on to the Regional Final game against Newark Licking Valley.
Senior quarterback, Teddy Buehner, dominated most of the action, accruing 354 yards of the Spartans 504-yard performance. Buehner threw for 189 yards (1 TD) and rushed for another 165 yards (2 TDs). While he might not have driven the bus home, Buehner's tackles on special teams made some Wyoming players feel like they might have got hit by one.
The Spartans opened the game with a surprising 16-yard pass to Ross Peters that crossed mid-field to the Wyoming 48-yard line. Then senior running back, Brock Bolen, began weaving his magic, advancing the ball to the Wyoming 34 on three straight plays. It was there that Buehner created some magic of his own, slipping through the Cowboy line and outrunning the secondary 34-yards and the Spartans first score.
Bolen, who totaled 124 yards on 30 carries, never had the breakaway runs that helped propel Valley View into the playoffs, but everytime he hit the hole, he wore down one more Wyoming linemen, even forcing the 300+ Wyoming lineman to sit out most of the third quarter.
It was the Spartan third quarter that was the deciding factor, giving Valley View a 5-1 advantage in playoff action against the Cowboys.
Valley View scored on their first two possessions of the second half, while the defense shutdown Wyoming's first three drives, providing the Spartans with a 27-12 cushion. That carried over into the fourth quarter where the Spartans found themselves with a 34-12 lead and what appeared to be total ownership of the Cowboys.
That's when Wyoming's leading rusher, Trey Tudor, began some magic of his own. On the Cowboys first drive of the fourth quarter, Tudor (186-yards, 32 carries) raced through the line for a 55-yard TD to close the gap. It was on the next Spartans series that Valley View coughed up the ball and Wyoming recovered on the 42-yard line. Seven plays later Tudor added his fourth TD and had decidely swung the momentum towards the Wyoming side of the field.
With 5:34 remaining, Buehner and company mounted a clock-killing effort that took them to the Wyoming 9-yard line where time expired, sending them to the Regional Finals for the tenth time in 12 years. Valley View has won the regional championship seven times during that period.
Valley View will face Newark Licking Valley, a 21-19 winner over Alter, at a site to be determined. Check back throughout the weekend for the latest updates and game preview, including site location and directions.
