Mountain Valley 8A Finish Off Canyon MS, 27-18
Jace Morales made things happen in win over Canyon Middle School.
Mountain Valley Middle School Football 8A team ran their record to 3-1 after staving off a Canyon MS rally in a 9 point win, 27-18.
Let’s Go Mountain Valley Hawks!!
The game started off with a stout defense as both school’s first drives ended with punts before MV’s next time with the ball took 6 plays to cover 54 yards and a Tyler Soza 7 yard touchdown run leaving 30 seconds left in that first quarter.
The Hawks would continue with another score after recovering a fumble on their next kick-off and this time needing to go 43 yards for their second score when Soza found Jace Morales on a 16 yard strike and Hawk, 15-0 lead.
That 2nd score had Jack Stracener kicking an extra point which is not a typical way Middle Schools tack on extra points. Could be a future kicker for Canyon Lake with a Senior (Dalton Stanley) and Junior (Ethan Scheclbauer) handling those duties the next two seasons.
MVMS would not be finished with another great defensive 4 plays which had 3 of those four snaps resulting in Jaguar’s being tackled for a loss.
Mountain Valley’s lineman were the difference makers with 9 tackles behind the line of scrimmage while helping the running game with more than 5 yards per carry. Dalton Hodges was one of those players that brought their A game to the line for this battle.
Let’s Go Hawks!!
“I just do my job,” Hodges said matter-of-factly. “We had a good defense and we had good plays and just stepped it up but we will have to continue doing our job each week.”
This time MV would score in two plays when Soza found Cayden Mills on a 29 yard pass to the two yard line which was followed with a Cash Ziemba 2 yard run and score that would be enough for this win.
Mills was able to adjust to the pass for the catch, “I was playing over the top and just adjusted to the ball…I was thinking I would have to just read it and make a u-turn and catch it.”
Making adjustments by a receiver is not a trait seen this early in a players career. On what will the team do in preparation of their next battle, “We will practice everyday and watch some film,” Mills said nonchalantly.
That first half had MV’s Hawks holding Canyon’s ground game to -8 yards on 14 running plays. Total dominance for a MV team that seemed to see their players coming out of the Canyon huddle as each play had multiple players ready for a tackle for loss.
Dalton Hodges, Jace Morales, and Cayden Mills are all smiles after win over Canyon, 27-18
Canyon MS was able to to score with a little under 2 minutes remaining in that first half. The Jaguars went to the air and 5 passes later were in the end zone and some momentum scoring right before intermission.
CMS kept that momentum starting the 2nd half with a 5 play scoring drive that had two explosive pass plays for 27 and 34 yards. That final pass was for the score and had the Visitors inching to a 9 point deficit, 21-12.
Mountain Valley’s offense continued to sputter with an interception on their next possession and looking at a whole new game with another Jaguar chance for a score.
That was quickly doused when Morales returned the favor with an interception which had MV capitalizing when they turned the turnover to points with a 39 yard drive taking 8 plays and a Eli Hammons 2 yard run which would be enough points for an eventual win, 27-12.
That final Hawk drive had a new QB when Soza did not return and Morales was called on to finish this game under center and this all-around player took the change in stride in helping run out the clock to close out the win.
“Next man up and get a first down,” Morales said when asked his approach when told he would take over at quarterback.
Way to Go Hawks!!
On his touchdown catch, “I ran the post and they were zone and I knew that I would just have to do my job and I did.”
A good day of work with an interception, a touchdown pass as a receiver, leading the team with 46 yards as the running back and finished the game off subbing at quarterback.
Canyon Middle School would mount one more score but Mountain Valley was able to run out the clock after that score.
MVMS will be back in action next Tuesday on the road against New Braunfels MS.
Go Hawks!!
1 3 4 5 Final Canyon MS 8A 0 6 6 6 18 MVMS 8A 8 13 0 6 27 Scoring Summary: MV-Tyler Soza 7 yard run (Eli Hammons run), 0:30, 1st MV-Jace Morales 16 yard pass from Soza (Jack Stracener kick), 4:33, 2nd MV-Cash Ziemba 2 yard run (run failed), 1:52, 2nd CJ-9 yard pass play (run failed), 0:03, 2nd CJ-34 yard pass play (pass failed), 3:42, 3rd MV-Eli Hammons 2 yard run (pat failed), 4:06, 4th CJ-57 yard run (run failed), 3:00, 4th Total Stats Canyon Hawks Total Yardage 143 187 First Downs 7 14 Rush/Yardage 17-69 28-152 Comp/Att/Int 6/7/1 2/7/2 Passing Yards 74 35 Punts/Average 1/14.0 1/34.0 Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0 Penalties-Yards 3-20 2-10 Passing Comp Att Pct Yds Int TD Tyler Soza 2 7 .286 35 2 1 Rushing Att Yds Ave Lg TD Jace Morales 6 46 7.7 14 1 Cash Ziemba 9 36 4.0 14 1 Eli Hammons 8 36 4.5 12 1 Tyler Soza 5 34 6.8 21 1 Totals 28 152 5.4 21 4 Receiving No Yds Ave Lg TD Cayden Mills 1 19 19.0 19 0 Jace Morales 1 16 16.0 16 1 Totals 2. 35 17.5 19 1
