SVHS Football: Trojans grow in tight loss

YERMO • The Silver Valley football team got its playoff atmosphere; it just didn’t get the result.

St. Genevieve beat the Trojans  33-27 at Don Price Field on Friday.

Silver Valley had its chances to knock off the No. 9 ranked team in the Northeast Division, driving to win or tie with a 1:40 left in the game and the home crowd reaching its loudest levels of the night.

“It was very hostile, very loud.” Silver Valley quarterback Chris Bailey said. “That’s the loudest game we played all year or ever at this school.”

After the game, cheerleaders, parents and fans told Silver Valley coach Andy Campbell it was one of the best — and loudest — Silver Valley games they’d ever seen.

“We got better today,” Campbell said. “We learned a lot. As we said before, we had to define what intensity is, what playoffs are — we defined it. I’m proud of each and every single one of our kids.”

Silver Valley never trailed the entire first half, but the momentum began turn toward the Valiants late in that half.

After Silver Valley wide receiver Alex Blakeley caught a 24-yard touchdown pass with a turnaround grab to take a 14-7 lead, the Valiants tied the score on the next play from scrimmage. Quarterback Christopher Navarro lateraled the ball to Matt Navarro who stopped and found T.J. Perry wide open down field for a 62-yard touchdown.

“We just made some big plays,”  St. Genevieve coach Eric Harris said. “The big play at the end of the half was the killer. I believe it gave us the extra momentum in the second half.”

The Valiants began the second half on offense, tied 14-14. On their first drive, they were aided by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on their way to a nine-yard touchdown run by Jose Guadarrama. Silver Valley fumbled the ball on the next kickoff, and St. Genevieve needed just five plays to take a 12-point lead.

The Trojans rallied twice in the final quarter to bring the game within a touchdown. Jason Mosley caught a seven-yard touchdown pass across the middle, and Mike Medeguari scored on a two-yard run.

Bailey finished with 100 yards rushing and 162 yards passing and Medeguari added 82 yards on the ground. The Trojans had almost a dozen passes hit receivers hands and not get caught.

“High school football is won on one or two plays,” Campbell said. “Tonight they got the better on one or two plays. We found some things that worked; we found some things that need tweaked, and other than that we are good to go.”

St. Genevieve    0    14    12    7    —    33
Silver Valley    7    7    0    13    —    27

First Quarter
SV — Blakeley 10 pass from Bailey (Bailey kick)
Second Quarter
SG — Christopher Navarro 16 rush (Arredondo kick)
SV — Blakeley 24 pass from Bailey (Bailey kick)
SG —  Perry 62 pass from Matt Navarro(Arredondo kick)
Third Quarter
SG — C. Navarro 6 yard run (kick failed)
SG — Jose Guadarrama 9 pass from C. Navarro 6 yard run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
SV — Mosley 7 pass from Bailey (Bailey kick)
SG — C. Navarro 6  run (Arredondo kick)
SV — Medeguari 2  run (kick blocked)

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(760) 256-4124 or mpeters@desertdispatch.com