SVHS Football: Trojans end season winless

YERMO • The Silver Valley football team ended the 2009 season the same way it started it — with a loss.

The Trojans fell 15-8 to Desert Christian in their final game of the season Friday night at Don Price Field. Silver Valley finished the season with a 0-9 record, but closed the gap with their opponents late in the season. The Trojans lost their two final games by an average of 10 points, while they lost the previous four games by an average of 30 points.

“It was a rough year,” Silver Valley coach Freezy Smalls said. “I really wanted to win it for our seniors. I think if we could have started earlier we would have had a better year. We made some improvements though. It’s a good sign for next season.”

Smalls said his defense played well during the game. He said freshman Stephen Garrett pressured Desert Christian’s offense and earned a sack in the game. Despite a strong effort from the Trojans defense the Knights ran the ball into the end zone in the second and third quarters to take a 15-0 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans made a push to come back after Mark Yarbrough rushed for a 12-yard touchdown and the subsequent two-point conversion to bring Silver Valley one possession from a win in the fourth quarter. However, Silver Valley’s offense never threatened the Knights for the rest of the game.

Silver Valley’s offense had trouble throughout the game and turned the ball over on fumbles three times. Smalls said the team also gave up a lot of yards on offsides and roughing the passer penalties in key situations.
“We just made too many mental mistakes,” Smalls said. “There was too many fumbles, too many penalties and just too many errors. Our running backs were moving the ball around in their arms and they’d lose it.”