D-11 Football: Thompson powers Vikings past Minersville in AA semifinal
Williams Valley's Brady Shomper runs with the ball during Saturday's District 11 Class AA semifinal against Minersville. The Vikings won 56-35 (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
WILLIAMSTOWN -– Williams Valley’s offense set the tone on its first play of the game.
Again.
The Vikings’ defense, meanwhile, was up to the challenge, especially in the first half.
Sophomore running back Fletcher Thompson ran for 211 yards and scored four touchdowns, three on the ground and one receiving, while the defense helped the Vikings’ build a big first-half advantage in a 56-35 win over Minersville in the District 11 Class AA semifinal Saturday at Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium.
The victory advances No. 2-seeded Williams Valley (11-1) into the finals as the Vikings go for a three-peat. They will meet No. 1 seed Schuylkill Haven (12-0) for the championship at 7 p.m. Friday at Blue Mountain’s Eagles’ Nest.
The Hurricanes hammered No. 4 Northern Lehigh 60-7 in Saturday’s other semifinal.
Not only is Williams Valley going for its third consecutive title but will meet Schuylkill Haven in the championship game for the third straight year. The Vikings won 49-35 in 2023 and 28-13 last year.
Thompson scored on a 68-yard run on Williams Valley’s first offensive play during last week’s quarterfinal win over Executive Education Charter.
He was at it again Saturday, only this time it was on a pass play as quarterback Brady Shomper hooked up with Thompson for a 74-yard touchdown.
Williams Valley’s offense was off and running.
Thompson carried the ball 21 times Saturday and scored on touchdown runs of 80, 2 and 16 yards. He now has 1,571 yards rushing on the season and is one of the multitude of offensive weapons Williams Valley has at its disposal.
“It’s amazing,” Thompson said of the win. “They are a great team. I just have to thank God. He’s amazing for giving me this ability and our line, they blocked great.”
Williams Valley’s offensive line of tackles Brayden Archer and Camron Green; guards Koen Zilinski and Shawn Romberger; center Robbie Hoffman, and tight end Bryce Zilinski opened up huge holes for Thompson, or anybody else who carried for the Vikings.
Shomper finished the night 7-of-10 passing for 186 yards and four touchdowns, including a perfect 4-for-4, 161-yard performance in the first half as he spread the ball around to five different receivers. Shomper also ran for 139 yards.
Williams Valley racked up 599 yards of total offense and scored touchdowns on eight of its 11 possessions. Kicker Quin Smeltz was a perfect 8-for-8 on point-after kicks.
In his final career game with the Miners (9-3), quarterback Dante Carr was 15-for-27 for 222 yards passing and three touchdowns covering 4, 1, and 65 yards. Carr added 144 yards on the ground on 16 carries.
But Williams Valley’s defense was able to hold third-seeded Minersville in check in the first half, holding the Miners to 138 yards of offense as the Vikings built a 35-7 lead at the half. The expected shootout finally materialized in the second half as the two teams combined for 49 points, but the deficit was too much for Minersville to overcome.
“The defensive line was able to change the line of scrimmage, which was huge,” Williams Valley coach Ben Ancheff said of the first-half defensive effort. “The linebackers really flowed to the ball. We were able to contain Carr for a while. There is no stopping him, but we were able to contain him and let our offense do what they do.”
Indeed, the Miners also had no answers for the Vikings’ offense.
“It starts with our offensive line,” Ancheff said. “They did a great job. Starting off the game with a touchdown and getting everyone going. Achenbach scored, Crisswell, (Blazer) Lords, (Trevon) Bair, Shomper, Thompson. We got a bunch of weapons there. They all came to play today, which was good.”
The Vikings won the toss and on the first play, Shomper, who was under pressure, found Thompson open on the right side and he raced down the sideline to score.
“We knew they were going to load the box,” Thompson said. “We tried to catch them off guard. He (Shomper) seeked me out on a swing pass there. Luckly, they weren’t there and realized I got the ball and I went down the sideline.
“I try to do it all the time,” Thompson added with a smile of his first-play touchdowns in back-to-back games. “It’s just kind of like, I have to go out and make a play.”
Minersville’s first offensive possession ended on a turnover on downs at the Vikings’ 32-yard line.
Williams Valley then needed six plays to drive 69 yards. On a third-and-8, Shomper found 6-foot-3 Colin Crisswell, who was well covered on the play, in the front left corner of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.
After the Miners punted on their next possession, Williams Valley drove right down the field again. This time the Vikings needed only four plays to score as Evan Achenbach took a swing pass from Shomper, made a defender miss at the line of scrimmage, and scored from 25 yards.
Minersville’s following possession was another turnover on downs.
Williams Valley turned the ball over its next possession as Adam Eckert recovered a fumble on the Miners’ 14. It gave Minersville some life as the Miners matched down the field in 11 plays. Carr finished the drive, scoring from two yards out to cut the deficit to 21-7 following Jordan Bowers’ PAT.
But the Vikings grabbed the momentum right back, thanks to another long touchdown from Thompson.
On the first play of the drive from their own 20, Thompson went right up the middle and scored on an 80-yard touchdown run with 3:28 remaining in the first half.
“I went right up the middle, made some good cuts, and great blocks, too,” Thompson said.
Williams Valley wasn’t done.
The Vikings attempted an onside kick as Christian Davis’ low, perfectly-placed kick bounced around and was finally recovered by Crisswell at the Miners’ 42.
With six seconds left in the half, Trevon Bair finished off a seven-play drive, scoring from a yard out.
