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Central Valley sets up showdown with Aliquippa by holding off West Allegheny

By: Nathan Breisinger
Friday, October 20, 2023 | 11:40 PM

The pursuit for the Parkway Conference title was alive and well with three one-loss teams entering Friday night attempting to chase down unbeaten Aliquippa.

There are many terms that can describe the Parkway Conference, but just listen to the words of Central Valley’s Jance Henry.

“Every week is a dog fight, no matter who it is.”

Even as a freshman, Henry knows the difficulty of the conference and the importance of the Warriors’ 29-20 victory over West Allegheny.

Henry has emerged as a critical player in the Central Valley offensive attack heading down the home stretch.

“There’s a young man that works,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “I don’t think anybody understands the time and the energy he puts in. I think our older guy’s love having him around because of his demeanor. He has a great approach to high school football.”

The 5-foot-9 running back served as Central Valley’s (7-2, 5-1) opener and closer against West Allegheny (6-3, 4-2).

On the Warriors’ opening drive, Henry was leaned on to establish their ground game. Henry found a hole in the interior defense and sped to the end zone for a 25-yard score.

He then put an end to any sort of comeback the Indians had planned as he weaved his way to the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

“All our plays look the same. It’s just, ‘Hey, score,’ ” Henry said. “When it opens, you just have to take advantage of it.”

The two rushing touchdowns from Henry were complemented by a 38-yard quarterback keeper score from Steven Rutherford and 4-yard score for Mason Dixon.

Lyons coined the victory as “old-fashioned.” His Warriors did damage on the ground but also found a way to make several critical defensive stops to keep West Allegheny from seizing control.

West Allegheny’s offense finally came to life with versatile Brock Cornell performing his best Houdini act in the second quarter as he rolled out of the pocket and narrowly escaped a flock of Warriors. Running up the sideline and then cutting back towards the middle, Cornell outraced the trailing defenders for a 77-yard score.

“As he goes is how the team goes,” West Allegheny coach Dave Schoppe said. “He’s a special type of kid to have on the field, and as long as he’s on the field, we have a chance.”

Trying to pounce on the momentum, West Allegheny surprised Central Valley’s special teams unit and recovered an onside kick on the Warriors’ 47. However, the Warriors defense forced a three-and-out.

That would not be the only moment that the Central Valley defense was called upon to make a big stop.

With seven minutes to go in the game, Rutherford dropped back and was quickly hit. He lost control of the ball, and West Allegheny fell on it with prime field position on the Warriors’ 46. On fourth down, Cornell tried to reach the first-down marker, but the Warriors stopped him well short of the lead stick.

“That’s another unit that’s growing with every snap,” Lyons said. “We have a lot of new faces over there, and they got on-the-job training. Every snap is a learning experience, and they get better and better, every snap.”

Central Valley held an Indians offense that scores over 30 points per game in check. Now, the Indians have to regroup and face Montour in a rivalry matchup to close out the season.

“We got to start work tomorrow. I expect to have a good game there and be ready to play,” Schoppe said.

For Central Valley, it returns home for a high-stakes matchup with the unbeaten Quips.

“Our guys will be ready, and I know that,” Lyons said. “It will be a great atmosphere for high school football.”

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