Walker Valley defenders back Zeke Garrison (11) and Jackson Gibson (5) bring down Rhea County running back Ethan Davis (32) in the first half. The Mustangs defeated the Golden Eagles 25-14 in a Region 4-5A battle Friday, in Evensville.
photo by Lynnae Roberts
EVENSVILLE, Tenn. — It is without a doubt, the biggest win for Walker Valley since the victory over No. 2-ranked Powell in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
It was without a doubt, a win the Mustangs (3-4, 2-0 Region 4-5A) desperately needed to break a three-game losing skid and keep their region championship hope alive. The huge morale boosting 25-14 win over Rhea County (1-5, 1-2) on the road Friday in Evensville was just what the doctor ordered.
“This was absolutely a must-win just to get our morale back.
It was a shot in the arm for us,” said an ecstatic Mustangs head coach Drew Akins after the first-ever Walker Valley win on Bill Horton Field.
The Mustangs were able to revive a run game that has been in a fog the last three weeks. Walker Valley quarterback Evan Schwarl stepped up in a big way after shouldering the responsibility for last week's loss to Cleveland. The junior spinner completed 14 of 22 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Schwarzl also made plays with his arm and his legs running for a first down on fourth down in the second quarter that led to a Mustangs' TD and throwing for another on fourth down in the third quarter that resulted in a field goal.
“Evan played great. He made play after play, big time moments. On fourth down he made the play we had to have. Just an unbelievable job by that kid.,” Akins praised. “(Tucker) Ownby was awesome. Blaine (Lowe) played well. We just played well.
Walker Valley stepped up its running game with 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“What an incredible performance. Early in the week I said if we can run the ball I think we've got a really good shot. I thought our offensive staff did an incredible job this week. We were able to really steam them up in the run game where I felt really good about plays we were calling. Where we had an extra hat, they didn't have an extra hat. There were cool ways we were able to run the ball this week and then our guys went and did it. What an unbelievable job by our guys of executing.”
It was the Eagles who struck first, however, chewing up eight minutes of the first-quarter clock to take a 7-0 lead.
Schwarzl and the Mustangs responded with a 53-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard pass to Larkin Lewis that made it 7-6 after a botched extra point attempt.
Walker Valley took its first lead of the night on a 55-yard drive that saw Ownby taking the snap in the Wildcat formation for a 5-yard TD run. The 2-point conversion failed, but the Mustangs held a 12-7 lead with 7:33 left in the first half.
The Eagles Countered with a drive of 71 yards that ended with an Ethan Davis 5-yard TD run that gave Rhea a 14-12 lead.
The Mustangs fired right back driving driving 80 yards to take the lead for good. Walker Valley moved to the Rhea County 16-yard line where Eli Wilson split the uprights with a 33-yard field goal to make it 15-14 as time ran out in the first half.
Walker Valley took its opening possession of the second half 77 yards where the drive stalled at the Eagles 4-yard line. Akins called on Wilson once again and the junior kicker added three more points for the Mustangs with a 21-yard field goal with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs sealed the win with the help of an Ownby punt return that set Walker Valley up a the rhea County 35-yard line. Seven plays later, Ownby took the snap and made his way to the end zone from 2-yards out. Wilson's extra point put the Mustangs out front 25-14 with 9:23 left on the fourth-quarter clock.
The Eagles pushed the ball to the Walker Valley 8 where the Mustangs forced a fumble and recovered the football with 7:20 left in the game. Rhea County got the ball back after a Walker Valley punt with 3:02 on the clock. The Mustangs' Blaine Lowe sealed the win with an interception with 1:43.
“Defensively they shut them out from the second quarter on. It was an unbelievable job by our defensive staff,” said Akins. “Early on they kind of had us with two tight end stuff, so we made some adjustments and got a little bigger outside the tight end and we were able to thwart them enough to let us kind of get a lead. Once we got a lead it became really hard for them.”
Akins said the victory was made even sweeter as he recalled the 2020 end to the Mustangs-Eagles battle
“Two years ago we were right here, up 11 and we found ways to lose. This year, same moment. We were up 11 and found ways to win. Unbelievable job by our kids,” said a happy Akins. “We beat a really good Rhea County team. Mark (Pemberton) is one of the best coaches around, period. He always does a great job. To beat them is huge for us.”
The Mustangs have a bye Friday as they get set to battle the McMinn County Cherokees (4-2, 2-0) for what essentially will be the region championship.
“Now we get a bye week. We get to take a breath and then we've got McMinn County for another really big game in two weeks, the biggest game, probably, in Walker Valley history. We're going to let our kids rest a little then we're going to go and give our best shot at them,” said Akins.
Summary
WALKER VALLEY 6 9 3 7 — 25
RHEA COUNTY 7 7 0 0 — 14
First Quarter
RC — Caleb Odell 5 run (Cole Ruehling kick), 4:47
WV — Larkin Lewis 15 pass from Evan Schwarzl (kick failed), 1:18
Second Quarter
WV — Tucker Ownby 5 run (conversion failed), 7:33
RC — Ethan Davis 5 run (Ruehling kick), 2:15
WV — Eli Wilson 33 field goal, 0:00
Third Quarter
WV — Wilson 21 field goal, 5:33
Fourth Quarter
WV — Ownby 2 run (Wilson kick), 9:23
WV STATS RC
20 First downs 14
40-205 Rushes-Yards 30-180
138 Passing 67
343 Total yards 247
14-22-0 Att-Comp-Int 5-12-1
6-27 Penalties-Yards 11-81
2-37.5 Punts-Avg 2-37
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
Individual Stats
Rushing: Noah Jones 18-72, Schwarzl 10-84, Ownby 10-52 TD (WV); Davis 13-102 TD, Odell 11-40 TD (rC).
Passing: Schwarzl 14-22-138 TD (WV), Kaleb Martin 5-12-67 (RC).
Receiving: Ownby 6-41, Lewis 1-14 TD, Jones 1-15, Eli Gibson 1-10, Blaine Lowe 4-55 (WV); Bryson Garrison 2-73, Odell 1-13, Drew Massingale 2-16 (RC).
Records: Walker Valley 3-4, 2-0 Region 5-4A; Rhea County 1-5, 1-2.