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Mid Valley upends Western Wayne

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 19, 2024

Mid Valley had a promising start to this season, reeling off 4 straight wins before falling short up at Lackawanna Trail in week 5. The Spartans then went 1-2 in their next 3 games to enter their matchup with Western Wayne at 5-3. The Wildcats opened up the season a perfect 8-0, outscoring their opponents by 11 or more points in each win. Both teams featured strong running games, but with Western Wayne averaging 350 yards per game on offense, we though this might be a bit of a lopsided matchup.

Boy, were we wrong on that one.

Mid Valley overcame mistakes in the 1st quarter that put them in a 10-0 hole, then played terrific defense the rest of the way. The Spartans scored 22 unanswered points, and the Wildcats made some critical mistakes in the 2nd half as Mid Valley upended Western Wayne 22-10. Mid Valley RB Jakob Lesher had 2 rushing TD’s and a 2-point conversion in the 2nd half, and QB Brett Yanoski was 14 of 18 passing with 1 TD pass. The Spartan defense made multiple big plays against the Wildcat run game in the 2nd half to gain the momentum they needed for the big road win.

Mid Valley won the toss and deferred to the 2nd half so Western Wayne set up to receive the opening kickoff, and it was a squib kick that was successfully fielded by the Wildcats at their own 45. On the very first play from scrimmage, QB John Pyatt threw it to WR Sean Owens who juked inside and ran it 55 yards to paydirt. With only 12 seconds elapsed in the game, Western Wayne had taken a 7-0 lead.

Mid Valley started their first drive at their own 31, and RB Jakob Lesher got right to work. Lesher ran it twice for a total of 13 yards to start things off for the Spartans. QB Brett Yanoski then hit WR Nick Pinto for a quick 4-yard gain. On 2nd-and-6 from the 47, Lesher took the handoff and was hit hard and fumbled the ball which was recovered by Pyatt for the Wildcats at the Mid Valley 45.

Taking over there, Western Wayne was determined to get their ground game going, and that meant a whole lot of RB Josh Vinton. On the drive Vinton ran 6 times, and WR Sean Owens also chipped in with 3 runs. The Wildcats appeared to have stalled at midfield and set up to punt, but Owens (who is also the Punter) executed the fake perfectly and ripped off a 23-yard run to give the Wildcats a new set of downs at the Mid Valley 23. After several more Vinton runs, the Wildcats had a 2nd-and-goal from the 9 when Owens appeared to score on a 9-yard run that was called back due to a holding penalty. The drive eventually stalled there, and K Jacob Wells hit a 36-yard field goal to give Western Wayne a 10-0 lead with 2:48 left in the 1st quarter.

Remarkably, those were the last points Western Wayne scored in the game.

Mid Valley started their next drive at their own 27 but stalled at the 46 and they punted it away as the 1st quarter gave way to the 2nd. Western Wayne then started at their own 20 and fared much the same, stalling at their own 38 and punting it away as well. Mid Valley then had a quick 3-and-out and punted, with Western Wayne taking over at their own 35 after a terrific punt return by Owens was called back due to a holding penalty. This proved to be a harbinger of things to come for the Wildcats, as on the very next play Vinton had a hug run deep into Spartan territory called back due to another holding penalty and on the ensuing play another penalty pushed them back to their own 20. This proved to be too much to overcome and Western Wayne punted it away again.

Mid Valley took over at their own 13, and began an inspired drive where the Spartans changed their game plan a bit. Lesher had a run out to the 18, and after a HB option pass from Lesher barely missed to WR Connor Hughes, Yanoski got into a groove with the passing game. He hit TE Jake Bondy for 9 yards and a 1st down, then hit Hughes for 9 yards and Lesher for another 6. After an incomplete pass and a botched snap made it 3rd-and-20 from the 32, Yanoski threw it down the right seam to Hughes who scampered for 26 yards into Wildcat territory at the 42. 2 straight passes to Bondy netted 7 yards, and on 3rd-and-3 from the 35 it was Vinton who made a terrific read and broke up the pass for the Wildcats. Facing 4th down, Yanoski’s pass was again broken up by Vinton to force a turnover on downs.

With little time left in the 1st half, Western Wayne moved quickly to get into scoring range. Pyatt’s first pass was a deep pass intended for Owens that just missed and fell incomplete. On 2nd down, Pyatt threw a screen to Vinton who ran for 16 yards to the Mid Valley 49. Pyatt then went back to Owens again and connected for a nice 18-yard gain to the 31. Pyatt tried again to Owens near the endzone but the pass fell incomplete, and on the next play Pyatt again threw to the right where the pass was intercepted by Mid Valley at the 17, effectively ending the 1st half.

Mid Valley received the 2nd half kickoff and started their drive at their own 22. Lesher had a 1-yard run and then Mid Valley went back to the passing game that stated to give them success late in the 1st half. On 2nd-and-9 from the 23, Yanoski hit Pinto again, this time for a big 50-yard play down to the Wildcat 27. Yanoski then threw it to WR Rhys Williams for a nice 23-yard gain down to the 4. Lesher ran it for 2 yards, then a holding penalty pushed the Spartans back to the 13. Lesher then hit it big, scoring on a nice weaving 13-yard run to get Mid Valley on the board. The PAT was blocked, but Mid Valley had cut the lead at 10-6 with 9:55 left in the 3rd quarter.

Western Wayne started their next drive at their own 40. Vinton ripped off a strong 16-yard run down to the Spartan 44, and an offsides penalty made it 1st-and-5 and the 39. Vinton carried the ball on every play on the drive, but was stopped short on 4th-and-4 from the 28 and it was a turnover on downs. Mid Valley made the most of the defensive stand, and employed the same strategy of mixing runs and passes. Lesher had a nice 11-yard run and then followed it up with a 7-yard scamper to the 45. He then had a strong 13-yard run that was ended by a big hit from Owens at the Wildcat 42 that seemed to ignite the Spartan bench. Yanoski then had 2 quick passes to Pinto and Hughes that netted 8 yards, and then Lesher ran it for 8 yards and a 1st down at the Wildcat 27. Yanoski then hit Pinto right in stride as he outran the Wildcat secondary on his way for a 27-yard catch-and-run TD. Yanoski then threw it to Lesher for the 2-point conversion, and with 2:25 left in the 3rd quarter Mid Valley had taken the lead 14-10.

The Wildcats had a nice return out to their own 42, then Owens ran it and was hit in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. Vinton then had a short 1-yard run, and on 3rd-and-10 from the 42 Pyatt’s pass was intercepted by the Spartans. Taking over at the 42, Mid Valley went right back to the air as Yanoski hit Hughes for 8 yards as the 3rd quarter ended. Starting the 4th quarter, it was back to the ground game for the Spartans as Lesher ran it 7 straight times for 25 yards down to the Wildcat 10. Facing a 4th-and-1 there, a fumbled snap meant a turnover on downs as Western Wayne took over at their own 11.

With just over 6 minutes to go in the game, Western Wayne knew they needed to get a score. Owens ran it for 3 yards, then Vinton ran it for 6. On 3rd-and-1 at the 20, Vinton was hit in the backfield for a 1-yard loss, bringing up a crucial 4th-and-2. After a timeout, Pyatt took the snap and rolled left and hit Owens who ran forward and appeared to gain the 1st down but a group of Spartan defenders were there to hit Owens and he fumbled the ball and a pile of Spartan defenders recovered the ball at the 22. Mid Valley then looked to run and drain the clock. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, 3 straight personal foul penalties aided the Spartans as they were handed a 1st-and-goal at the 2. From there, Lesher struck again on a scoring run and when Yanoski hit a wide open Williams for the 2-point conversion, Mid Valley had extended their lead to 22-10 with 3:51 left in the game.

Western Wayne started their next drive at their own 35, but on the first play Pyatt’s pass was intercepted by Lesher at the Mid Valley 37. Taking over there, the Spartans kept it on the ground with 4 straight runs by Lesher effectively running out the clock and sealing the win for Mid Valley.

After the game, Head Coach Stan Yanoski told his squad “We told you all week that we were going to win this game and just asked you to trust us, and you did.” I had a chance to speak with RB Jakob Lesher after the game, and you can find that interview below.

Mid Valley improved to 6-3 and will take on Lakeland next Friday at home. Western Wayne fell to 8-1 and will go on the road to play Dunmore next Thursday evening.

Be sure to check out the photo gallery for the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  PHOTO GALLERY

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