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Vallivue's Aaron Kener, right, raises his hands after Valivue scored the first touchdown of the game against Lake City on Friday night at Vallivue High School.
Mike Vogt/IPT
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Jake Alger
sports@idahopress.com
Saturday, October 10th, 2009

CALDWELL — The Vallivue High School Falcons must have seen a homecoming victory in the near distance Friday night, because they ran toward it all night long — racking up 299 rushing yards and, most importantly, making one more big play than the Lake City High School Timberwolves in the final quarter.

LCHS had its share of offensive success as well, to the tune of 416 total yards, but its final drive fell short thanks to a fourth-down, blind-side sack by Talon Sudbeck.

The senior linebacker, whose father flew in from California to watch him play for the first time, attributed the defensive unit's feisty performance to improved preparation.

"We had our best week of practice in a long time — since the beginning of the season," he said.

Still, both teams were able to move the ball fairly well throughout. The Falcons set the run-centered pace early, and the T-Wolves followed suit.

VHS opened the game with a scoring drive that featured nothing but ground plays. Betancourt blasted into the end zone from the 2 yard line.

Not to be outdone, LCHS used an effective pass/run mixture to fly downfield for a quick touchdown, capped by Jacob Bowman's 17-yard TD run around the right side of the defense.

Then Falcons quarterback J.J. Hyde's touchdown pass to Aaron Kener was matched by T-Wolves back Justin Bryant's 30-yard scoring sprint straight up the middle of the field.

Hyde momentarily grabbed the momentum with a touchdown run late in the first half, but the Wolves snatched it back with a diving 31-yard touchdown catch with just 24 seconds left, cutting VHS' lead to one point.

Sloppier play in the third quarter gave way to a frenzied finish, started by a 1-yard Allen Carmichael touchdown run right after T-Wolves quarterback Mark Smyly's nifty 34-yard play-action pass to Austin Kiefer.

Down 26--21, Hyde calmly led his team downfield with a series of punishing totes. He finished it off with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown run.

LCHS soon after marched to the Vallivue end of the field, thanks largely to a 37-yard Smyly/Kiefer hookup. But Sudbeck's sack sealed the victory for VHS.

Peak performance

Jordan Betancourt put the Falcons on his shoulders in the first half, carrying the ball 19 times for 115 yards. The combination of his shiftiness in the holes and the offensive line's ability to create them could spur increased confidence for the team from this point  forward.

Vallivue head coach Layne Coffin said his devotion to the running game Friday night reflected VHS' need to return to the basics of their system.

"We have to run between the tackles and open up the passing game," he said.

Pretty in defeat

Kiefer's second-quarter touchdown catch drew "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, as he dove, tipped the ball up in the air with one outstretched hand and cradled it before it could hit the ground.

It wasn't only an impressive grab; it was a momentum-shifting play right before halftime.

Finally getting there

Sudbeck's game-clinching sack was the culmination of several "almost sacks." Up to that point, Smyly had been deftly evading VHS' hard-charging edge pressure all night.

"Our kids were just hunting him down and hunting him down," Coffin said with a smile.

Up next

Vallivue — 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference — will look to continue its ground-game heroics  at home against Capital at 7 p.m. Oct. 16.

LCHS — 1-5 overall, 1-0 in the Inland Empire League — will host Meridian in Coeur d'Alene at 7 p.m. Oct. 16. This contest gives both teams a chance to emerge from early-season struggles. Meridian is 1-5 overall.