Hidden Valley turned a scoreless battle of field position into a 21-point cushion in a span of 1:19, as the Titans rolled to the 28-0 win over 2011 Group AA Division-3 state runners-up Christiansburg Friday night at Dwight Bogle Stadium.
Hidden Valley drove deep into Blue Demon territory late in the second quarter in what had been a defensive battle to that point. Titan running back Walker Brand then broke the stalemate when he went in from 2-yards out with 1:42 remaining in the opening half. Landon Dermott’s point-after gave Hidden Valley the 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hidden Valley pooched the ball to the right side, and recovered at the Blue Demon 28-yard line when Christiansburg failed to field the short kick.
Brand took the next play to the end zone, only to have the touchdown called back on a Hidden Valley penalty. Moments later, after the Titans had quickly driven to the Christiansburg 2, Brand plowed in for a second score and 14-0 Hidden Valley lead.
Christiansburg was prepared to go to the locker room to regroup after Hidden Valley covered well on the next kickoff, but the Titans, with three timeouts in hand, had other ideas.
A quick three-and-out forced the Blue Demons to punt, and Duke-bound Jake Kite promptly fielded the boot and raced 59-yards untouched down the right sideline for the backbreaking third Hidden Valley score in just over a minute.
The Titan defense took over and shut down the deflated Christiansburg offense the rest of the way.
Brand added a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to secure the final 28-0 margin. The junior finished the game with 178 rushing yards on 27 carries against the punishing Blue Demon defense.
It was Christiansburg’s second straight loss after opening the season 5-0. Hidden Valley won its third straight and improved to 2-0 in the River Ridge with a road game at Pulaski County set for this Friday night (Oct. 19th).
BILL TURNER game story/photo