Tigers return to even record with big road conference win
By: Andrew Carr
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LUCASVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — The Waverly Tigers won a high-scoring nail-biter against the undefeated Valley Indians to open conference play, as a strong passing attack led by Gunnar Myers carried them to victory. The Tigers routed the Indians, 42-25.
Waverly received the ball first in the matchup. Their opening drive started slowly, but on third down, quarterback Gunnar Myers completed a 40-yard pass to wide receiver Trae Perry, moving the Tigers inside the 10-yard line. Myers capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run to give Waverly an early 7-0 lead.
The Indians went three-and-out on their opening possession, but junior Colton Stuart intercepted a pass on Waverly’s next drive and returned it 30 yards to the red zone. Senior Nick Queen then scored on a rushing touchdown to tie the game at seven midway through the first quarter.
Both offenses stalled until the closing seconds of the quarter. After a Valley punt, Myers found Davion McBride behind the defense for a 51-yard touchdown on Waverly’s first play of the possession. The score gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Valley responded with a drive that lasted more than six minutes and included several third-down conversions. Quarterback Braxton Conway broke multiple tackles to keep the drive alive, and senior wide receiver Isaiah Clark made several catches. The Indians finished the drive with a field goal from Caysen Zieber, cutting Waverly’s lead to 14-10.
Two plays later, Waverly answered with an 80-yard touchdown. Hezekiah Nelson caught a short checkdown pass, cut upfield and outran the Valley defense to the end zone, extending the Tigers’ lead to 21-10.
Valley put together another long drive and scored shortly before halftime. Conway scored on a five-yard keeper to make the score 21-17 at the break.
That was as close as the Indians would get, as the second half belonged to the Tigers. Waverly quickly marched down the field, and Myers connected with Nelson on a short slant for his second touchdown of the night, extending the lead to 28-17.
Valley responded with a touchdown pass to Clark and converted the two-point attempt on a Conway run, cutting the deficit to 28-25.
That was the final time the Indians reached the end zone. Perry caught a 20-yard touchdown pass to extend Waverly’s lead to 35-25. Shortly afterward, the Tigers connected on a 62-yard touchdown pass that gave Nelson his third score of the night.
Waverly won 42-25 and improved its record to .500 as it prepares for its second conference game will try to extend its winning streak to three games when it travels to face Portsmouth West. Valley will look to bounce back when they travel to face Wheelersburg, which is 2-2 this season.