Central Valley uses strong first half to beat West Allegheny

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | October 22, 2022

So far this season Central Valley has been dominant on offense and defense. Tonight was no different in their 55-7 blowout win over West Allegheny. “Our guys were pretty locked in” said Coach Lyons.

West Allegheny got the ball to start the game but went three and out. Central Valley started their first drive of the game at their own 38 yard line. On the first play of the drive Deniro Simpson busted a big 30 yard run down to the West Allegheny 32. After that Bret FitzSimmons took over and eventually scored on a 17 yard run to make the score 7-0 Central Valley with 7:44 in the first quarter.

West Allegheny got the ball for a second time and on third down a pass was intercepted and Central Valley had another golden opportunity. That drive started at the West Allegheny 40 yard line. Once again Bret FitzSimmons was the main guy and eventually scored on a second 17 yard run. That made the score 14-0 Central Valley with 5:06 in the first quarter. “You have to play defense, the points are nice but at the end of the day you’ve got to stop someone” said Coach Lyons.

FitzSimmons was the main guy for Central Valley in this game. In the first half alone he had 133 yards on 11 carries. He finished the game with 144 yards on 14 carries. “It was a good game, we prepared all week, we just executed, I just ran as hard as I could” said FitzSimmons.

After that things really went downhill for West Allegheny. On third down a ball was intercepted by Jackson Tonya and returned for a 22 yard touchdown. That made the score 21-0 Central Valley with 3:28 in the first quarter. 14 seconds later West Allegheny fumbled it on the first play and picked up by Rylan Jeter for a 6 yard touchdown. Jackson Tonya forced the fumble that led to the score. “It was surreal, I got the interception and just ran it into the end zone” said Tonya. That made it 28-0 with still 3:14 left in the first quarter.

West Allegheny got the ball back and it was a long drive that took up a lot of time. The drive resulted in West Allegheny’s only touchdown of the game. The drive took 15 plays and was finished off on a 1 yard run by Brock Cornell. That made the score 28-7 Central Valley with 6:41 in the second quarter.

It didn’t take long for Central Valley to answer West Allegheny’s score. On the third play of the drive Antwon Johnson connected with Jayvin Thompson for a 54 yard touchdown strike. “Our leadership is starting to show” said Coach Lyons.

Before the first half ended Central Valley added one more score. FitzSimmons scored his third touchdown of the game this one being a 4 yard run. “This team knows Bret, He is one of the hardest workers, he’s got everyone’s respect, including the coaches and trainers and players” said Coach Lyons. That made the score 42-7 Central Valley at the half.

Central Valley got the ball to start the second half and scored on the opening possession. FitzSimmons had a couple more runs and the drive was finished off on a 2 yard run by Rylan Jeter.

Central Valley added one last score before the game ended. Steven Rutherford scored on a 31 yard run which made the final score 55-7 Central Valley. The win also extends their win streak to 36 games which is the longest streak in Pennsylvania. “These guys the appreciate it, but they also know that there is a next game they got to line up for, they understand the moment and where they’re at” said Coach Lyons.

Next week Central Valley has major showdown with defending 4A champion Aliquippa. Winner of the matchup will also take the Parkway conference title.

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