Norsemen squeeze out six-TD win over humbled Henry

By ECS Staff
Updated: September 26, 2015

Don De Mars Photography photo

By Gene Yale

© East County Sports.com

ALLIED GARDENS (9-26-15) — A little extra incentive is sometimes a good thing.

Valhalla received a double dose of it when they bussed to Patrick Henry Friday evening (Sept. 25) to take on the Patriots. When they arrived at the stadium, the boys in the orange Norsemen uniforms were greeted by a large pep-rally banner, courtesy of the Patrick Henry fans: “We eat Oranges for breakfast.”

By the time the game was over, it seemed like those same fans had a bad case of indigestion from eating all those oranges……or maybe it was from being on the wrong end of a 49-7 shellacking. For those of you who haven’t been to a football game at Patrick Henry, the stadium is in a bowl that requires a long hike from the parking lot—and that’s to the top of stadium.

It’s another trek down a winding road or a bunch of steep steps to the playing field. Of course, there’s a field level entrance at one end, where the obligatory ambulance was parked in a 60 by 80 foot parking area (not enough room for a small pickup truck, according to the hosts).

It didn’t sit well with the Norsemen when the host school administration refused to let the visitors drive their equipment truck to the field level, but rather insisted that all of Valhalla’s equipment be hand-carried the equivalent of several city blocks—to and from the parking lot. Sometimes adults forget that sportsmanship starts at the top. Despite that unfortunate incident, both teams played a clean game, each side giving its all.

Although Valhalla’s Lawfirm Defense has been the driving force so far this season, the “O” put on a show right from the start. Senior quarterback PHILLIP NASEH, after being sacked for a nine yard loss, quickly recovered and threw a dart to senior wide receiver CONNOR CHAMBERLAIN for a 13-yard gain to the Patriots’ 46-yard line. On the next play Naseh heaved a bomb to senior wide receiver NEEVER KRYAKOS for a 38-yard advance to the Patrick Henry 8-yard line. To cap off the drive, Naseh threw a spiral to senior running back RAHSHAUN SHARPE for a 9-yard touchdown. Chamberlain (5-6 PAT) converted and the Norsemen led 7-0, at the 8:12 mark of the first quarter.

In the second period, a short Valhalla punt gave the Patriots good field position at the Valhalla 45-yard line. A personal foul penalty quickly moved the ball to the Valhalla 30-yard line, followed by a 10-yard run. On the next play, junior running back Dominick Silvels took a direct snap and tossed a 20 yard fade pass to senior wide receiver Dezmon Patmon, who, at 6’5”, out-jumped the defender for a touchdown. After the PAT, Patrick Henry knotted the score at 7-7, with 10:28 to play before intermission. That success was brief, very brief.

Following the ensuing kickoff, the visitors didn’t waste any time. Behind great blocking by his offensive line, Sharpe bolted for a 14-yard gain on first down, to the Valhalla 47-yard line. On the next play, Sharpe nearly took it to house, zooming to the Patriots’ 3-yard line for a 50-yard pickup. Sharpe scored on a 3-yard burst on the next down, reclaiming the lead for the Rancho San Diego team, 14-7, with 9:27 left in the second quarter.

The Norsemen weren’t done. Deep in Patrick Henry territory, senior defensive lineman DANIEL BENDER batted a pass — right to senior linebacker LOGAN BAKER, who intercepted it, giving Valhalla the ball at the Patriots’ 9-yard line. Two plays later, junior running back (or is that “rumbling back”?) JEROME JOHNSON bulled his way into the endzone, upping the lead to 21-7, with 7:29 left to play in the first half.

Two plays later, Valhalla lit up the scoreboard again — this time by the defense. Senior defensive back J. J. MEIER picked off an errant pass and weaved his way into the endzone for a 25-yard pick-six. This time, Chamberlain, instead of kicking the PAT, took a pitch from holder CADE BAKER, and scored a 2-point conversion, putting the game out of reach, 29-7, 6:51 before halftime.

“Our defense was solid,” said Valhalla coach CHARLES BUSSEY of the Norsemen.

Most of the second half was played with running time. Valhalla scored in the third quarter after Naseh hooked up with Bender, who showed that a defensive lineman can play receiver, with a 27-yard snag of an over-the-shoulder pass to the Patriots’ 18-yard line. A few plays later, versatile BRANDON FULLER hauled in a 7-yard TD pass from Naseh. In the fourth quarter, Fuller, now at QB, found Meier open for a 46-yard touchdown, to close out the scoring at 49-7.

The Norsemen Lawfirm Defense was relentless. Unlike their courtroom counterparts, this defense never rests. The boys had five interceptions, two sacks and eleven tackles for loss. For the second week in a row, they held the opposing offense to minus 4 rushing yards, and limited Patrick Henry to 90 yards total offense.

On the offensive side of the ball, Valhalla gained 404 yards. Naseh was 11-15-0 for 170 yards and two TDS. Sharpe gained 97 yards on 9 carries, scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving TD.