Williams Valley celebrates with the District 11 trophy and placard after beating Schuylkill Haven 34-31 in the Class AA championship game Friday at Blue Mountain's Eagles' Nest (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

Vikings score game-winner with 56.5 seconds left to win 34-31

ORWIGSBURG — In Williams Valley football lore, it may be called “the drive.”

Trailing top-seeded Schuylkill Haven by three points with just over 4 minutes remaining in Friday’s District 11 Class AA championship game at Blue Mountain’s Eagles’ Nest, the Vikings put together an eight-play march to a title.

Brady Shomper’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Colin Crisswell with 56.5 seconds left proved to be the game-winner as the Vikings captured a 34-31 victory over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes to win a third straight District 11 crown.

The win advances Williams Valley (12-1) to next week’s PIAA quarterfinals. The Vikings will play the winner of Saturday’s contest between District 2 champion Lakeland and District 12 champ Lansdale Catholic at a District 11 site, most likely Blue Mountain.

“The mentality was this was it. This was our season,” Shomper said of the Vikings’ final drive. “We had to go make a drive for ourselves.”

Williams Valley’s game-winning drive was a microcosm of the entire game for the Vikings. The Vikes overcame early adversity with a critical play at a crucial moment, then made another big play to seal the deal.

Let’s set the table:

Williams Valley took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in 13 plays, with Shomper’s 2-yard keeper putting the Vikes up 7-0.

Schuylkill Haven (12-1) answered by scoring on four straight possessions. A 31-yard TD pass from Max Heim to Blake Rossi tied it at 7-7. Two plays later, Colton Reber strip-sacked Shomper, with Ethan Kline recovering at the 16-yard line. Reber scored on the next play to put Haven up 14-7.

On Williams Valley’s next possession, Logan Goad blocked the punt, with Niko Castillo recovering at the Vikings’ 32. Two plays later, Reber scored again from 37 yards out to make it 21-7 after one frame.

Schuylkill Haven went ahead 24-7 midway through the second quarter on a 29-yard field goal by Grayson Fessler before Williams Valley began its comeback.

A 9-yard run by Fletcher Thompson sliced the deficit to 24-14 with 3:11 left in the half. After getting a defensive stop, the Vikings made it 24-20 on a trick play.

Faced with fourth-and 2 at his own 39, Williams Valley head coach Ben Ancheff called for a fake punt. Shomper checked out of the original route and hit Thompson down the seam for a 61-yard touchdown.

“It was supposed to be a little bubble to Fletch but I just told him to go,” said Shomper, who finished 13-of-19 passing for 278 yards. “They didn’t cover him enough … they didn’t see it coming at all. They knew it was a fake, they were calling for it, but he snuck out and I hit him for the touchdown.

Williams Valley went ahead 27-24 on its first possession of the third quarter when Shomper threaded a pass between three defenders to Blazer Lords for a 39-yard touchdown. The teams then exchanged punts back and forth before Schuylkill Haven took a 31-27 lead on Goad’s 15-yard run with 4:34 remaining.

Starting at its own 31, Williams Valley’s final drive started slowly.

On first down, Thompson was stuffed for a 1-yard gain. Haven defensive lineman Chase Williams then made a pair of plays, sacking Shomper for a 6-yard loss and corralling Shomper for a 2-yard gain as he tried to scramble.

Faced with a fourth-and 13 at their own 28, with the season on the line, the Vikings went to a play that was open several times throughout the game but Shomper didn’t hit it.

The senior quarterback found Trevon Bair for a 17-yard gain in the left flat to keep the drive alive with 2:20 remaining. It was Bair’s only reception of the game.

Bair was popped hard by Schuylkill Haven defensive back Adam Balulis as he caught the ball but was able to hang on for the reception.

“We ran that play about two times before that and I noticed they didn’t cover me all night on that play,” said Bair, the Vikings’ defensive leader from his linebacker spot and a fullback on offense. “The play before that was third-and-13 and they had nobody on me. I said to Coach Benny, please run that play back.

“I seen Brady roll out, he hit me, I caught the ball but I got smoked. The only thing going through my head was keep the ball in your hands. I kept the ball, we got the first down, then touchdown.”

Added Williams Valley coach Ben Ancheff: “Trevon gets popped by (Balulis) and he holds onto the ball and gets a first down. That was the play of the game right there for us. Season on the line … season on the line.”

Shomper followed with a 9-yard pass to Crisswell, then ran a keeper for 2 yards to get a first down at the Haven 44. After Thompson was stopped for a 2-yard gain, Williams Valley called timeout with 1:05 left.

The Vikings then ran the same play that they used on fourth-and-13. This time, Shomper went deep, hitting a wide-open Crisswell for the touchdown. Crisswell, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound junior, had outran the defender, hauled in the perfectly-placed pass and ran into the end zone for the score.

“I knew that the play was going to be wide open,” Crisswell said. “I knew that I was getting that touchdown as soon as the ball went up. … It was a great play overall. We all knew it was going to work.

“It was great. Everybody was all hyped up. Everybody was jumping up and down. It was the best moment.”

Schuylkill Haven still had time to answer. Reber raced 25 yards on the first play to get the ball to midfield. After an incompletion, Reber ran 9 more yards to the Williams Valley 42 with 40.6 seconds left.

The Hurricanes tried a hook-and-ladder play, but defensive pressure on the receiver forced the lateral to go forward, which is a penalty. Faced with a fourth-and-3 at the WV 44, Heim’s pass attempt down the seam was intercepted by Shomper to seal the game for Williams Valley.

“It was the most satisfying feeling I’ve ever felt,” Shomper said of the game-sealing interception.

It’s the third straight year that Schuylkill Haven defeated Williams Valley in the regular season, then the Vikings beat the Hurricanes in the District 11 title game.

For the Hurricanes, it was a frustrating end to a terrific season.

Reber finished with 212 yards rushing as Haven ran the ball 33 times for 292 yards. Heim was just 6-of-15 passing for 96 yards and was sacked three times … he was just 4-for-13 for 27 yards after two passes to Rossi on Haven’s first drive.

For Williams Valley, it’s a third straight trip to the PIAA playoffs. After a season of ups and downs, it’s horns up once again.

“Every year is different,” Ancheff said. “This year, the ups and downs, but we really banded together, like they did in this game here. We were down 24-7, pulled it together, made a nice comeback, then defense was shutdown in the second half.

“I was really proud of the kids. We battled adversity throughout the season and they stepped up tonight.”

Game Summary

District 11 Class AA Championship

At Blue Mountain

Williams Valley 34, Schuylkill Haven 31

WV (12-1)      7          13        7          7  —    34

SH (12-1)        21        3          0          7  —    31

WV — Shomper 2 run (Smeltz kick)

SH — Rossi 31 pass from Heim (Fessler kick)

SH — Reber 16 run (Fessler kick)

SH — Reber 37 run (Fessler kick)

SH — FG Fessler 29

WV — Thompson 9 run (Smeltz kick)

WV — Thompson 61 pass from Shomper (kick blocked)

WV — Lords 39 pass from Shomper (Smeltz kick)

SH — Goad 15 run (Fessler kick)

WV — Crisswell 42 pass from Shomper (Smeltz kick)

Team Statistics

                                    WV              SH

First Downs                17                 17

Rushes-Yards              40-144          33-292

Passes                          13-19-0        6-15-1

Passing Yards             278               96

Total Yards                 422               388

Fumbles/Lost              1-1                1-0

Penalties                      3-25              9-60

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Williams Valley — Thompson 26-160, Bair 1-3, Shomper 12-0, Team 1-(-19). Schuylkill Haven — C. Reber 18-212, Castillo 9-65, Goad 2-19, Heim 4-(-4).

PASSING: Williams Valley —- Shomper 13-19-0, 278. Schuylkill Haven —- Heim 6-15-1, 96.

RECEIVING: Williams Valley — Crisswell 3-81, Achenbach 5-74, Thompson 3-67, Lords 1-39, Bair 1-17. Schuylkill Haven — Rossi 2-69, Castillo 2-13, Balulis 1-11, C. Reber 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Williams Valley — Shomper