Great Valley Patriots interception brings them their first win of the season over Sun Valley Vanguards

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

Ted Podberesky | September 9, 2023

Sun Valley Vanguards hosted the Great Valley Patriots tonight at Dr. Wally stadium, both teams facing a speed bump looking to get over. With one another coming into this game 0-2,  someone was bound to take the leap tonight and get their first win of the season. That team happened to be Great Valley who beat Sun Valley 21-13 tonight in a nail biter win. The Vanguards fall to 0-3 on the season as the Patriots advance to 1-2.

Great Valley started with the ball executing run plays from junior running back Sam Synder,  until Sun Valley defense came to play stopping the Patriots offense around mid field and getting the ball back. The Vanguards offense started off with the ground and pound feeding senior running back Noah Griffin for almost the entire first and second quarter. 

The entire first half was a defensive war, shutting each other down on multiple third and fourth down occasions when it mattered the most. Going into halftime the score was 0-0, adjusting to formations and making a new game plan was exactly what both teams had in mind.

Noah Griffin started the third quarter with a 28 yard kickoff return, where Sun Valley stuck to their roots chewing clock up on the ground. Eventually, running back Noah Griffin scored on a 40 yard touchdown run to put the Vanguards on the board for the first points of the game. Great Valley answered as soon as they touched the ball, quarterback Braeden Melia threw a screen out to Cole Callahan who ran in for a 55 yard touchdown with blazing speed up the sideline.

After back to back scores both teams struggled to find their footing again on offense for a while. All until, Sun Valley drove down the field punching the ball in again from Noah Griffin from 20 yards out following offensive linemen Nate Lewis and Jp Griswold on a combo block. The Vanguards missed the extra point, but took the lead 13-7.  

With 15 seconds left in the third quarter Sun Valley kicked off to senior linebacker Nathan Ricciardi who shot out of a cannon and took the ball 80 yards downfield to end the quarter. With great field position Melia wasted no time finding his wide receiver Tommy Crouse on a 20 yard touchdown catch and throw. 

With both teams playing phenomenal games on defense Sun Valley finally got their shot at taking the lead back with under seven minutes in the 4th. With quarterback RJ Sharrer at the helm delivering quick strikes to Josh Yanonis and tight end Aidan Cook. What seemed to be a game leading drive got turned upside down when linebacker Nathan Ricciardi came up big again picking off Sharrer and running for 18 yards before being stopped.

The game was in the Patriots hands taking an abundance of time off the clock running the ball down the field for consecutive plays. Sam Synder scored a rushing touchdown from the one yard line to put Great Valley up 21-13 with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

With little time on the clock Sun Valley went into their no huddle offense trying to find quick plays to get them downfield. RJ Sharrer fired down the middle to Noah Griffin which would have been a game tying touchdown if they converted the two point play, but was instead intercepted by sophomore safety Ty Callahan. With a minute left in the ball game Braeden Melia took a knee for the Patriots offense to finalize their first win of the year.

Braeden Melia for the Great Valley Patriots who threw for over 185 yards tonight and two touchdowns said that, “ We’ve definitely struggled this season in the 2nd half but what it comes down to is trusting each other and our coaches, if we do those things and execute we can close out games like this. “ 

Noah Griffin from the Sun Valley Vanguards who had a monster game tonight with over 180 on the ground and 21 in the air to pair with two touchdowns states that, “ It’s never fun to lose, nobody likes it but when the times get rough we need to pick out teammates up and remind them their time is coming so be ready. “ 

Great Valley takes on Oxford next week at home, while Sun Valley travels to Henderson. 

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