Shady Side Academy football shuts out Valley

By: George Guido
Saturday, October 15, 2022 | 7:15 PM

Favorable field position in the second quarter propelled Shady Side Academy to a 30-0 victory over Valley on Saturday afternoon at Michael J. Farrell Stadium.

A three-play scoring drive from the Valley 29 and a punt return to the Vikings 1 by Naiziim Daniels lifted the Bulldogs (2-1, 3-4) to a key Allegheny 6 Conference win. Shady Side is tied for second place with Deer Lakes and East Allegheny in the conference standings. The top four teams go to the playoffs.

The Bulldogs will visit Deer Lakes on Friday.

“I think our field position was huge, and I think you can credit our defense,” Shady Side coach Chuck DiNardo said. “Credit goes to our defensive coordinator, Dave Szlachetka, and what’s he’s been able to do in the last four weeks in terms of our defense being lights out. It’s a huge testament to him and our defensive coaching staff.”

The Bulldogs defense held Valley to 31 net yards.

In one early sequence, Valley defensive end Demetrius Ballard picked up a fumble and scored from 77 yards, but blocking in the back was detected at the Shady Side 12, and the Vikings had to start from the 22.

Valley was turned back 13 yards and lost the ball on downs. The Vikings got another shot late in the first period from the Bulldogs 35 but again lost the ball on downs.

A 58-yard pass play from Max Wickland to Joey Bellinotti gave Shady Side the ball on the Valley 13, setting up a 25-yard field goal by Harran Zureikat and a 3-0 lead.

The Vikings looked poised to hold Shady Side to another field-goal attempt on fourth-and-goal at the Valley 8. But an offside penalty on Valley put the Bulldogs offense back on the field.

Tackle Nate Ewell, lining up in the backfield, was stopped by a host of Vikings inside the 1.

Valley couldn’t move the ball, and Shady Side set up at the Valley 29 and scored on Bellinotti’s 5-yard run.

The Vikings lost another 32 yards on the next series, setting up the Daniels punt return and a 1-yard keeper by Wickland to make it 16-0 at the half.

Valley (0-3, 1-7) was held to minus-35 net rushing yards in the first half, but that quickly was erased by Xavier Wilson’s 46-yard run on its first play from scrimmage in the second half.

“The one thing is, we still fight,” Vikings coach Dave Heavner said. “I’m very proud of the schemes we put in place. We have to just work offensively and find a space and a place where we can succeed. We’ve been trying to work all year on it.”

Shady Side put together a 92-yard, 11-play drive in the third quarter to put the game away.

A 53-yard drive in five plays was culminated by a 17-yard pass from Wickland to Charlie Johnson to conclude the scoring.

Wickland passed for 284 yards.

“Max was pretty efficient today,” DiNardo said. “I think he made the throws when we needed to and set the tone and rhythm for our offense.”

Bellinotti had six receptions for 158 yards.

Tags: Shady Side Academy, Valley