D-11 Football Feature: Vikings focused, driven in quest for 3rd straight Class AA title
Williams Valley head coach Ben Ancheff goes through a defensive drill during practice Wednesday in Williamstown (Photo by Leroy Boyer)
Williams Valley players remain focused, weather storm
WILLIAMSTOWN — It hasn’t been an easy ride this season for Williams Valley.
Ranked among the state’s top Class AA teams all season, the Vikings weathered a tumultuous stretch that included a midseason coaching change that drew national attention and spurred social media criticism from all angles.
For the Williams Valley players, however, the goal has never changed.
In fact, amid all the controversy, the Vikings have been more driven to succeed, played with more intensity and have been more focused as they’ve plowed their way to an 11-1 record and a third straight appearance in the District 11 Class AA championship game.
Williams Valley will look for a third straight crown when it takes on unbeaten Schuylkill Haven at 7 p.m. Friday at Blue Mountain’s Eagles’ Nest.
“We’ve been through ups and downs this year and we’ve been playing great through it,” senior quarterback Brady Shomper said during practice Wednesday. “We’re all in on the system. We know that what we can do will win games and we’re all in on it. We’re just fighting to prove to people what we can do.”
Shomper is one of 14 seniors that have compiled a 41-9 record despite having three head coaches during those four seasons. He said the players rallied around each other after head coach Stephen Sedesse resigned Oct. 6 and athletic director Ben Ancheff took over as interim head coach.
Williams Valley has averaged 54.2 points in its last five games, victories over Marian (56-10), Shenandoah Valley (55-6), Pine Grove (62-0), Executive Education (42-13) and Minersville.
The Vikes scored on their first eight possessions in the 56-35 District 11 Class AA semifinal victory over the Miners, racking up 600 total yards.
“That’s really what WE talked about. We knew that it was all us,” Shomper said. “We had to go out there and play and it was us playing. We knew we had to play for each other and that’s what we’ve been doing since.”
Added senior two-way lineman Camron Green: “We want to prove everyone wrong. Not listen to everything … we control what we can control and just keep moving.”
Shomper has been electric in the past five games, completing 37-of-53 passes for 1,024 yards and 16 touchdowns with no interceptions while rushing for 348 yards and five more scores. Against the Miners, Shomper was 7-of-10 for 185 yards and four TDs passing while running 12 times for 140 yards.
For the season, he’s thrown for 1,712 yards and 27 touchdowns while running for 955 yards and 15 TDs.
“Execution,” Shomper said when asked what has been the key. “Blocking schemes, routes, everything. We’ve been executing on every single play that we’ve been given and that just comes from practice. We practice hard and we just execute our plays every game.”
Another big key to Williams Valley’s success comes in the trenches.
The 6-foot-1, 290-pound Green combines with fellow seniors Brayden Archer, Shawn Romberger and Robbie Hoffman and sophomore Koen Zilinski to form an offensive line that has helped Williams Valley rush for 279.5 yards per game.
The Vikings enter Friday’s contest averaging 434 total yards and 44.8 points per game.
Sophomore Fletcher Thompson paces the ground game with 1,572 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. Senior Evan Achenbach leads a talented receiving corps with 32 catches for 603 yards and nine TDs, with Blazer Lords (18-345, 5 TDs) and Colin Crisswell (15-313, 7 TDs) the other top targets.
