Spring Valley’s big plays upset Westwood
Spring Valley parlayed two long touchdown runs by Ty’Juan Fulton and a solid defensive performance into a 21-14 Region 4-4A upset of Westwood.
Sophomore Quincy Hill returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown and the Vikings defensive unit denied a red zone scoring opportunity by the host Redhawks midway through the fourth quarter.
The win secures a state-playoff berth for Spring Valley (6-4, 3-1). The Vikings can claim a share of the regular championship with a win in next week’s regular-season finale against Lugoff-Elgin.
Westwood closed the regular season with an 8-3 overall record, 3-2 in region matters.
TURNING POINT
Quincy Hill’s interception of a hope-and-a-prayer pass by Westwood quarterback Jalen Smith on the last play from scrimmage in the first half seemed innocuous enough ... until Hill returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to stake the Vikings to a 21-7 lead.
KEY PERFORMERS
Ty’Juan Fulton: The fleet Spring Valley senior negotiated the soggy turf at Westwood District Two Stadium with ease – piling up 232 yards on 11 carries. He had two 74-yard scoring runs in the first half, and had a 54-yard scoring jaunt in the third quarter negated by a penalty.
Jalen Smith: The Westwood quarterback was 18-for-31 passing for 202 yards and one touchdown and ran for 61 yards and another score.
Montre Miller: The Westwood receiver caught eight passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.
OBSERVATIONS
Misleading stats: Everybody knows statistics, at times, lie. Westwood ran 43 plays to 13 for Spring Valley in the first half and controlled the ball for 19 of the 24 minutes. Spring Valley, however, had a 21-7 lead at the break.
Making good use of time: Spring Valley scored on its first offensive play and on the last play of the first half. Moreover, a would-be Westwood tackler on the way to the end zone touched neither Fulton nor Quincy Hill.
Key move: After the Spring Valley defense denied a Westwood scoring bid at the 11-yard line with 5:56 remaining in the game, the Vikings offense ran out the clock – the one sustained SV drive of the game.
THEY SAID IT
“Big time players make big time plays in big time situations. That’s what Ty’Juan did tonight.” – Robin Bacon, Spring Valley coach
“We talked all week about the seniors needing to step up, and we did tonight.” – Ty’Juan Fulton
“Defensively, we seemed to be on the field all night, but those guys bowed their backs when it mattered the most.” – Bacon
KEY NUMBERS
33.2: The yards-per-carry average for Fulton in the first half.
11: The number of offensive yards gained by Spring Valley offensive players not named Ty’Juan Fulton in the first half.
20: First downs by Westwood to seven for Spring Valley.
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
SV – Ty’Juan Fulton 74 run (RJ Bacon kick), 5:39
2nd Quarter
W – Montre Miller 14 pass from Jalen Smith (Brandon Howard kick), 8:15
SV – Fulton 74 run (Bacon kick), 7:24
SV – Quincy Hill 75 interception return (Bacon kick), 0:00
3rd Quarter
W – Smith 8 run (Howard kick), 6:41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: SV: Fulton 13-232, Lee 11-18. W: Mitchell 19-78, Smith 10-61.
Passing: SV: Lee 2-3-0-10. W: Smith 18-31-1-202.
Receiving: SV: Haynes 2-10. W: Miller 8-86, Griffin 4-60.
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Spring Valley’s big plays upset Westwood."