IRONWOOD LEAGUE FOOTBALL: Valley Christian unable to capitalize on first half opportunities, blown out in third quarter

Valley Christian High senior defensive end Teddy Dobmeier sacks Aquinas High quarterback Gabriel Gutierrez for a 12-yard loss on the second to the last play of the first half in last Friday’s 40-6 loss to the Falcons in Ironwood League action. Dobmeier also recovered a fumble on the fourth play of the game. PHOTO BY STEVE FERICEAN.

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

Valley Christian High head coach Brendan Chambers had planned on seeing the big offensive playmakers from Aquinas High when the teams met last Friday at Valley Christian Stadium in Ironwood League action. But when the Falcons started their backup quarterback, Gabriel Gutierrez, and their fourth leading running back in terms of yardage, Steven Honeyfield, the Defenders had a chance to do some offensive damage in the first half.

But as it turned out, those offensive stars were benched for disciplinary reasons and leading rusher Champ Brown, who has 564 yards and 10 touchdowns, was sidelined with a sprained ankle. When the disciplined players returned in the second half, it was a completely different game. A 6-6 halftime score quickly turned into a 27-6 deficit for the Defenders inside the first 10 minutes of the third quarter and Aquinas went on to rout V.C, 40-6 on Harvest Festival night.

“When the game was over, I asked the [Aquinas] coach what was going on,” said Chambers. “We had no idea; we figured something was up, figured they were probably in trouble because it was a whole different roster on the back end, both sides of the ball. We kind of figured it; but yeah, not until the end of the game.”

The game began in a positive way for the Defenders (4-3, 1-1) as senior defensive end Teddy Dobmeier recovered a fumble on Aquinas’ first possession and Christian Vega had a 34-yard field goal blocked on their second possession. V.C. parlayed that into a 22-yard field goal from senior Gavin Harper following its longest drive of the night, which lasted nine plays, 64 yards and 4:30.

But on the third play of the game, the offense woke up for the Falcons and Honeyfield, who entered the game with nine carries for 68 yards, found an opening up the middle, and scored on a 62-yard run. Senior defensive back Noah Pelton would block the extra point, and the Defenders would tie the contest the next time they got the ball.

Starting at the Aquinas 47-yard line thanks to a 47-yard kickoff return from junior Byron Louis, V.C. ran seven plays to get to the three-yard line before settling for a 21-yard field goal from Harper with 6:02 left in the half.

“It wasn’t too frustrating; they were still running a lot of the same stuff,” said Chambers of the different personnel from Aquinas. “Defensively, we knew what they were doing. We knew that with [their top players out], we had to get points early, and we just didn’t do that. We didn’t score in the red zone; came up short and settled for field goals. You’re not going to beat a team that good by settling for field goals. There’s a lot of things we need to work on going forward, but we know that’s a quality opponent.”

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Valley Christian High senior running back Tim O’Connor (left) takes a handoff from junior quarterback Graham Lunzer early in the second quarter against Aquinas High last Friday in an Ironwood League game. O’Connor was stopped at the nine-yard line for no gain and three plays later, senior Gavin Harper booted a 21-yard field goal to tie the game. V.C. would not score again, losing to the Falcons 40-6. PHOTO BY STEVE FERICEAN.

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V.C.’s defense allowed 105 yards in the first half but the offense ran 22 plays and of the four possessions it had in the first 24 minutes, two ended in field goals in which the Defenders were stopped at the five-yard line and three-yard line respectively, one ended in a fumble and the fourth ended in an interception as the team was about to enter the red zone.

“We made too many mistakes; we can’t turn the ball over against a team that good,” said Chambers. “We blocked that field goal, but we can’t settle for field goals against a team that good. But I loved the energy we had in the first half. In the second half, it was a different story, but we have to figure out a way to put something together for four quarters.”

Honeyfield gained 70 yards on 11 carries and Gutierrez completed four passes for 28 yards. However, the missed opportunities by the Defenders would haunt them in the third quarter. Senior Dylan Teays punted from the back of the end zone for short yardage and immediately, Charlie Reyes, who was benched in the first half, threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Gaines.

Those two hooked up for a 53-yard touchdown play the next time the Falcons touched the ball and with 2:21 remaining in the quarter, Reyes threw an 87-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Stewart. Aquinas ran just three plays in the stanza, all touchdowns, which totaled 41 seconds.

“I just told them I’m so excited I don’t have to play another game against that guy,” said Chambers. “He is just an absolute stud both sides of the ball. So, I’m very happy he is graduating because he is very, very good.”

Meanwhile, V.C. couldn’t get anything going in the second half, gaining 81 yards on 26 plays, punting three times, fumbling once and having another drive end on downs. The Defenders picked up just four first downs in the half and got as far as the Aquinas 20-yard line.

Reyes was perfect on all seven of his pass attempts for 254 yards and four touchdowns while junior quarterback Graham Lunzer was 12 of 22 for 135 yards and was sacked twice. He and senior running back Tim O’Connor each picked up 14 yards on the ground, which was nearly non-existent. Senior wide receiver Oliver Boateng continues to have a fine season, hauling in eight receptions for 83 yards while on defense, senior linebacker Cole Hefner had five and a half tackles and senior safety Sean Bouma added four tackles.

“I think that’s kind of our offense right now; throwing first and running second,” said Chambers. “Tim and [senior] Tyson [McNeese] do a good job in there, and we’re going to have to run Graham a little bit more as well. But we knew that their defensive front was good, so we knew we were going to have to throw the ball quick. We didn’t do a good job of protecting Graham, and it was tough.”

The Defenders will regroup and host Village Christian High, which has two wins in league action just like Aquinas, for their final home game of the regular season. Chambers, who predicted Aquinas would win the league back in August, still believes his team can get either second or third place and an automatic berth into the playoffs as the combined record of V.C.’s last three opponents is 9-12.

“We love our chances; we’re right where we want to be and our goals are still in front of us, still,” he said. “We came out of the game pretty healthy. We have three more games, now, and if we win two of the three, we have a good shot to make the playoffs. If we win all three, we’re guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. So that’s all we’re focusing on right now.”