H.S. FOOTBALL: Hubler, Thompson power Williams Valley past Tri-Valley 28-21
· Yahoo Sports
TOWER CITY — This season, it took Williams Valley coach Frank Gaffney a handful of games to realize how he should be using sophomore tailback Cole Hubler.
But as the saying goes, it’s better late than never.
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“I made some bonehead mistakes as a coach early, not realizing he’s a true tailback,” Gaffney said after Friday night’s 28-21 win over rival Tri-Valley. “I was using him more as a slot receiver, and in the Marian game, he busted one for 80 and torched it. I was like, ‘Yo, this kid can play running back. Why is he not getting the ball?’”
Now a solidified piece of Williams Valley’s offense and rushing attack — giving the Vikings a potent three-piece attack alongside Fletcher Thompson and Trevon Bair — Hubler is making a huge impact.
After recording 19 carries for 275 yards and three touchdowns over the Vikings’ past two wins against Mahanoy Area and Shenandoah Valley, Hubler had another big performance on Friday evening, tallying 12 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
When he’s not using his speed to run by defenders, Hubler, a smaller back compared to his counterparts in Thompson and Bair at just 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, is often out in front of his fellow backfield mates blocking.
“He’s unselfish,” Gaffney said. “All those big runs that Trevon and Fletcher have, he’s blocking. I’ve said it since I came here: Hubler is one of the most under-the-radar, just a great, tough, physical kid.”
For Hubler, it’s easy to see that the confidence is building.
“I really love that coach trusts me to be that person so I can show my speed, my physicality, and just show that I can score when he needs me the most,” Hubler said about the recent step up in touches.
Ultimately, it was the three-pronged attack of Hubler, Thompson, and Bair that set the tone for the day for the Vikings. Williams Valley finished the game with 303 yards on 32 carries, including 109 yards on 18 carries from Thompson, while Bair contributed 58 yards across eight carries.
Williams Valley struck first in Friday night’s rivalry matchup, coming out of the gate with a strong seven-play, 78-yard drive. It was a drive highlighted by Thompson totaling 32 yards on his first four carries of the night while the Vikings converted three separate third downs. While the run game was the story of the night for Williams Valley, it was the passing attack that opened the scoring as Cayden Witmer connected with Colin Crisswell for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Tri-Valley looked to answer the opening score for Williams Valley, driving into Vikings territory before ultimately settling for a 42-yard field goal attempt from Nathan Hilliard, who had the distance needed but pushed it wide right.
The Vikings responded to the missed field goal with another impressive scoring drive, utilizing nine plays to go 80 yards, all on the ground, before Thompson scored from 10 yards out to make it a 14-0 lead for Williams Valley early in the second quarter.
In danger of letting the game get away from them early, Tri-Valley had its best drive of the night following Thompson’s touchdown—a 13-play, 72-yard methodical drive that was aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty from the Vikings. Quarterback Trey Porter found the end zone from four yards out to make it a 14-7 score.
The Vikings had an opportunity to regain the two-score advantage before halftime but ultimately failed to score, sending the game into the break with Williams Valley ahead 14-7.
Coming out of the intermission, Tri-Valley did its best replication of Williams Valley’s opening drive of the evening by scoring on its first drive of the second half, needing just eight plays to go 59 yards, with Porter connecting with wide receiver Doyle Flory for a five-yard score to tie the game at 14-14.
It was a big evening for Flory, who finished the night with eight receptions for 85 yards. The senior’s eight receptions made up a large portion of Porter’s night through the air (11 completions on 20 attempts for 142 yards).
The tied game, however, did not last for long as Hubler made a splash on the fourth play of the Vikings’ ensuing drive, taking a counter handoff before turning the corner and sprinting down the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown run.
From there it was a physical, and at times chippy, game, with both defenses unwilling to give an inch to the opposing offenses. Williams Valley extended the lead to two scores early in the fourth quarter on Hubler’s second touchdown of the day to make it 28-14.
Tri-Valley narrowed the deficit to one score with under four minutes to go as Porter once again connected with Flory for a 20-yard touchdown strike, taking advantage of a crucial defensive pass interference penalty against the Vikings on fourth-and-11.
Following the touchdown and equipped with three timeouts, the Bulldogs attempted an onside kick but failed to recover. To the credit of Tri-Valley’s defense, the Bulldogs came up with a crucial stop on the Vikings’ ensuing drive, giving their offense a chance to tie the game in the final minute.
The drive, however, was short-lived as on the second play from scrimmage, Porter was intercepted by Witmer to ice the game.
Despite the loss, Tri-Valley coach Jeff Sampson was pleased with his team’s effort, especially missing multiple key pieces including his program’s top tailbacks in Parker Hatter and Landon Horoschak.
“I thought we played tough all night,” Sampson said. “We never gave up; the kids played their hearts out. We came into the game—not to make excuses—but we came into the game minus four starters. We’re going with the third-string running back, who I thought played his heart out tonight, and I’m so proud of the way he played, and all of them. None of them gave up. So to lose to a team like this by seven, I know it’s bittersweet, but it’s not like we gave it away.”
Sampson believes the effort will provide confidence for his team to build upon heading into the district playoffs, knowing there’s a chance the two sides will soon meet again.
“It has already,” he said about his team’s confidence growing after the performance. “When we were in a group here after the game on the field, they were already talking about playing Williams Valley again. We’re going to have to win some games as a team to get there, but they’re ready. They wanted to put the pads back on tonight and play another game.”
Looking ahead to the opening weekend of the District 11 playoffs, Williams Valley is locked into the No. 1 seed at 9-1 overall on the season. They’ll open their pursuit of another District 11 championship next Friday night when they host Lackawanna Trail.
Tri-Valley enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the District 11 playoffs and will match up against No. 3 Marian Catholic in Hegins. The two sides previously met on Oct. 2 in Hegins, a 24-21 win for Marian Catholic.