Red Devils stay in BDC/Playoff hunt
Sesser-Valier/Waltonville handles Eagles, 46-6 Friday night at home
10-01-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER - Keeping their playoff hopes alive, and also a shot at claiming a share of the Black Diamond Conference championship, the Sesser-Valier/Waltonville Red Devils made quick work of Eldorado on Friday night in front of a homecoming crowd at SV.

The Red Devils improved to 5-1 on the season with the win, racking up 349 yards of total offense in the 46-6 victory.

Two different Red Devil runners went over 100-yards rushing as they put Eldorado away by halftime.

The Eagles and head coach Joe Clark dropped to 1-5 on the season with the defeat on the road.

Senior running back Brock Chelf rushed for 144-yards on 10 carries on the night and scored three of the Red Devils' touchdowns.

Sophomore Colt Packer added 113-yards on the ground one eight rushes and he found the end zone once in the rout.

Junior quarterback Carson Hoffard was 4-of-6 on the night in the air for 81 yards, which included a touchdown pass to senior Gavin Woodland.

Woodland caught two of the Hoffard throws for 41-yards with a touchdown while senior Quinn Gajewski and sophomore Wyatt Loucks each caught a pass in the victory.

Loucks grabbed a touchdown pass in the final quarter for dual head coaches John Shadowens and Mike Rude.

For head coach Joe Clark and his Eagles it wasn't a good night as the program's consecutive playoff appearances streak will end at seven.

Eldorado is now 1-5 after the lopsided loss but there were some bright spots to build upon.

Senior running back Dylan Henshaw nearly broke the 100-yard barrier for the night, rushing 14 times for 99 yards.

Junior quarterback Parker Price also had a pretty good night running the ball with five carries for 23 yard.

Passing Price and his teammates couldn't get things going as he was just 7-of-18 for 43-yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions

Josh Owens, a junior receiver, caught three passes for 18-yards which included a 10-yard touchdown reception late in the game as the Eagles avoided the shutout.

Henshaw also caught three passes from Price for 17-yards.

Senior Chase Kittinger caught the other completion from Price for eight yards.

“We made some mistakes early and they capitalized. We gave them some early scores. It got our moral down right off the bat,” said Coach Clark. “I thought our effort was there for the most part. We do some things that are frustrating, things that are not as sound as they need to be. It starts with me. It's my responsibility. We just have to continue to try and get better.”

After stopping Eldorado on the Eagles first possession on a three-and-out punt, Sesser-Valier/Waltonville struck first.

It took just three plays to cover 53-yards.

Chelf took a hand-off from Hoffard making quick work of the Eagles' defensive as he went 49-yards for a touchdown.

The PAT by Gavin Dressler made it 7-0 SV/W with 8:09 left in the first quarter.

Eldorado managed to move the ball on its second possession, getting a first down and making it to their own 45 before SV/W took over on downs.

The Red Devils had their own issues on the night with fumbles as their next drive ended with fumble into the Eldorado end zone where the Eagles recovered.

But with the ball at the Eagles' 20-yard line, Henshaw ran the ball to the right side where he was hit hard by Packer.

Henshaw lost control of the ball and Woodland grabbed the ball in the air.

Woodland returned the ball 23-yards for a touchdown.

Another PAT by Dressler pushed the Red Devils to a 14-0 lead with 2:04 left.

The best drive of the first half by Eldorado came after the kickoff as Coach Clark's club went 50-yards down field to the SV/W 14.

But the drive stalled at that point with a fourth down pass falling incomplete in the end zone as Sesser-Valier/Waltonville took over on downs.

It took the Red Devils just five plays to score their next touchdown.

A nine yard run by Chelf started the drive.

Packer then went 49-yards into Eldorado territory.

A run by senior Jordan Reynolds and a quarterback keeper by Hoffard set up Chelf for his second score.

A 22-yard run by Chelf gave him his second TD of the night with 6:23 left before halftime.

The PAT kick was no good but the Red Devils were in charge at 20-0.

Sesser-Valier/Waltonville forced yet another Eagles' mistake as Price was intercepted by senior corner back Eli Schoenbaechler.

Eldorado was called for a personal foul on the tackle with pushed the ball down to the Eagles' 29.

It took just two pass completions from Hoffard to get his club back into the end zone.

He found Loucks for a 17-yard gain to the 12.

His next pass found Woodland as the senior got a foot down in the back of the end zone.

The PAT snap was bad which left the score at 26-0 with 5:05 left before intermission.

As it turned out, the Red Devils weren't done scoring in the second quarter as Eldorado turned the ball back over to the hosts.

On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Price was intercepted again as Packer grabbed a tipped ball and returned it to the Eldorado 21.

Chelf added his third touchdown on the night on the next play, going the 21-yards for a score.

The Red Devils were stopped on their two-point conversion attempt making it 32-0 SV/W.

Eldorado managed drive into the SV/W territory but couldn't score before time ran out.

The Eagles went 55-yards down to the Red Devils' 10.

Helped by a roughing the passer penalty, Eldorado had a chance with :01.9 left but a Price pass to Henshaw resulted in being tackled as the horn went off.

Sesser-Valier/Waltonville got the ball after a failed on-side kick attempt by Eldorado which gave the Red Devils the ball at the Eagles' 49.

SV/W drove into the Eldorado 13-yard line before another lost fumble gave it back to the Eagles at the 11.

Eldorado finally got on the scoreboard with an extended drive.

Henshaw made his best run of the night going 42-yards to the SV/W 47.

It took 11 more plays and a lot of clock but Eldorado scored.

A fourth down pass from Price to Owens for 10-yards gave the Eagles their only score of the night.

The PAT two-point conversion run failed leaving the score at 32-6 with 1:26 remaining.

The Red Devils needed just seven plays and a little over two minutes to reach the Eldorado end zone once again.

After recovering yet another on-side kick attempt on their own 39, Chelf went 21-yards to the Eldorado 40 on the first play.

After a six-yard loss on a sack, Hoffard threw a swing pass to Gajewski for an additional 21-yards.

A Packer run up the middle moved the ball to the Eldorado six-yard line.

A run by Chelf for four-yards set up Packer for a two-yard score.

The PAT pass failed as SV/W now led 38-6 with 11:47 left in the game.

Eldorado couldn't move the ball on its next possession and punted back to the Red Devils but yet another fumble by Sesser-Valier/Waltonville gave the ball back to Eldorado at the Red Devils' 45.

Again the Eagles couldn't move the ball and punted back to the Red Devils.

Sesser-Valier/Waltonville got another score before the end.

Reserve Pacey Dudley got into the fun with three carries on the final drive of the game for 17-yards.

Loucks run up the middle for two-yards and the final TD of the night for the Red Devils.

A two-point conversion pass from junior Colton Payne to Loucks was good which pushed the lead to 46-6 with 4:45 left.

This triggered the 40-point mercy rule continuous clock.

Eldorado managed to pick up a first down on its next drive and reached the 50-yard line as the game ended.

“We did move the ball in the second half against their varsity. We have a lot of youth playing on our offensive line and defensive line and the learning curve is going on right now,” said Coach Clark. “We are for sure proud of their effort.”

The Eagles next action will be next Friday as they host rival Carmi-White County Friday night.

Sesser-Valier/Waltonville will travel to Johnston City on Friday night to take on BDC first place Johnston City with not only a shot at sharing the league title but also improving their playoff stock with just two more games to play after Friday.

The Red Devils are looking for their fifth consecutive playoff berth.

Black Diamond Conference
1
2
3
4
-
F
Eldorado
0
0
6
0
-
6
Sesser-Valier/Waltonville
14
18
0
14
-
46
Scoring
1st Quarter
SV/W - Brock Chelf 49-yard run. (PAT Good) - 7-0 SV/W.
SV/W - Gavin Woodland 23-yard fumble return. PAT Good) - 14-0 SV/W
2nd Quarter
SV/W - Brock Chelf 15-yard run (PAT No Good) - 20-0 SV/W
SV/W - Carson Hoffard pass to Gavin Woodland. (PAT No Good) - 26-0 SV/W
SV/W - Brock Chelf 21-yard run. (PAT Run No Good) - 32-0 SV/W
3rd Quarter
E - Parker Price pass to Josh Owens. (PAT Run No Good) - 32-6 SV/W
4th Quarter
SV/W - Colt Packer two-yard run. (PAT Pass No Good) - 38-6 SV/W
SV/W - Wyatt Loucks two-yard run. (PAT Pass Good) - 46-6 SV/W