Steve Bennett
KINGSTON - Of all the different scenarios to qualify for the District 2-4-11 subregional playoffs, Valley West's may have been the simplest. All the Spartans needed to do was beat Coughlin and punch their ticket to the subregional.
On paper the math was easy, on the field it was a different story.
Matt Shimshock rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and Eli Tohme and Josh Popple were both in on sacks on back-to-back plays to stop a Valley West drive as the Crusaders stunned Valley West, 14-0 at Spartan Stadium.
The loss sends the Spartans from having a chance to host a subregional playoff game to the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Coughlin, which defeated Valley West for the first time since 2003, also clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference tournament.
"The linemen did a great job executing and the wide receivers did a great job blocking down field, they are the ones who make those runs possible," said Shimshock who finished the night with 94 yards rushing.
All night it seemed the Spartans were one play away from breaking the game open.
Coughlin managed just seven yards of offense in the first half, but two Valley West fumbles and a botched snap on a field goal attempt helped the Crusaders hang around. And the more they were able to hang around, the more dangerous they became.
"We moved the ball, we racked up yards but we didn't put any points on the board," Valley West coach Pat Keating said. "We talked all week about how Coughlin allowed the fewest points. They give up yards but they don't give up points. We had opportunity after opportunity but we hurt ourselves in a lot of situations."
Twice in the first half Valley West turned the ball over deep inside Coughlin territory. The first came on a fumble at the 16 and the second was an interception by Derrick Harold at the 3-yard line.
"In the first half we had the opportunity for three or four touchdown and we came away with nothing," Keating said. "We had a little miscommunication on the interception going into the end zone."
After Harold picked off his second pass of the night, the Crusaders finally had the ball in Valley West territory with 11:35 left in the game. Starting at the 49, the Crusaders needed 11 plays to score. Coughlin converted one third down play and a fourth down play to keep the drive alive before Shimshock scored on a 14-yard run. The PAT was blocked giving Coughlin a 6-0 lead.
Valley West set up on the Coughlin 43 on the ensuing kick and got down to the 27. But quarterback Connor Haggerty was dropped for a 5-yard loss on second down and that is when Tohme and Popple took over.
Both came crashing through the line of scrimmage on the next play to sack Haggerty for an 8-yard loss. On the next play, they sacked Haggerty for a 7-yard loss on fourth down. Three plays later Shimshock scored on a 47-yard run, and following the two-point conversion, the Crusaders had put the game away.
"It means everything to get in there and stop them," said Tohme, a defensive end. "We excecuted and got the job done. Our defensive coordinator (Brian Hampel) is the key to everything. He knows how to switch it up. He gives us three or four looks every game. We just took on the A gap and me and Popple got in their and got the sack."
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