By Rick Elmore, Courtesy of the Herald-Dispatch
Photos by Ryan Fischer, HD Media
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Spring Valley and Martinsburg are headed for a rematch after the Timberwolves defeated Princeton 56-14 on Saturday at the Wolves’ Den in the first round of the Class AAA high school football playoffs.
Quarterback Dalton Fouch’s five touchdown passes in the game moved the junior into a tie with Tyler Brown for first place in the school’s record books for career scoring tosses with 32.
“I didn’t know I was that close (to the record),” Fouch said. “But it feels good and a big shout out to the guys who can make the plays for me.”
Spring Valley (9-2) had plenty of big plays.
Fouch found Ty Bartrum on a pass over the middle of the field and the wide receiver made it a 7-0 game on the 27-yard catch and run.
Bartrum struck again when Spring Valley went on defense when he intercepted Princeton quarterback Grant Cochran’s pass and returned it 47-yards for a 14-0 lead.
Corbin Page caught two of Fouch’s touchdown passes.
The first, a 15-yarder, required the 6-foot-6 tight end to outjump a Princeton defender to come down with the catch. The second, with 2:09 left before halftime required Page to jump in the air, make the catch and come down with a foot in bounds in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown.
Along the way, Fouch also completed a touchdown pass to Dalton Caldwell for 30 yards and then tied the record with a 7-yard score in the third quarter on a pass to Ben Turner.
“He distributed the ball to a bunch of different receivers and did a good job of keeping his eyes downfield,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said of Fouch.
After the first possession in which Princeton (5-4) held Spring Valley to a three-and-out with just four rushing yards, the Timberwolves got its ground game involved in the scoring too.
Jace Caldwell scored on a 32-yard run in the second quarter to make the score 42-7. Trace Snider broke a 46-yarder to set the final tally.
Princeton, after a 5-0 start to the season, lost its last four games as injuries mounted for the Tigers, head coach Chris Pedigo said.
“We were missing our lineman Eli Campbell, we were missing both outside linebackers and missing a safety,” Pedigo said. “The guys that came in there we got some good reps with the young guys. The last few weeks it’s caught up with us.”
Martinsburg (10-1) defeated Parkersburg South 83-20 on Friday to advance into the second round and hosts Spring Valley Friday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup.
The Timberwolves defeated the Bulldogs 35-30 on Oct. 29 in Huntington.
PRINCETON 0 7 7 0 – 14
SPRING VALLEY 14 28 7 7 – 56
S – Bartrum 27 pass from Fouch (Mosser kick).
S – Bartrum 47 INT return (Mosser kick).
S – Page 15 pass from Fouch (Mosser kick).
S – D. Caldwell 30 pass from Fouch (Mosser kick).
S – Page 4 pass from Fouch (Mosser kick).
P – Collins 89 kickoff return (Geso kick).
S – J. Caldwell 38 run (Mosser kick).
S – Turner 7 pass from Fouch (Mosser kick).
P – Collins 3 pass from Cochran (Geso kick).
S – Snider 46 run (Cunningham kick).
P R
First downs 6 22
Rushes-yards 14-23 31-178
Passes 12-26-2 18-31-0
Passing yards 69 264
Total yards 92 442
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 4-40 3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: (P) Rice 2-13, Proffitt 3-6, Cochran 1-(-6); (S) J. Caldwell 7-59, Fouch 6-7, Bartrum 2-8, Shy 2-7, Snider 3-67, Booth 3-21, McFeeley 4-9, Adkins 1-2, Smith 1-0.
PASSING: (P) Cochran 12-25-2, 69 yards, 1TD; Collins 0-1-0, 0 yards; (S) Fouch 18-31-0, 264 yards, 5TDs.
RECEIVING: (P) Proffitt 1-12, Clemons 4-30, Rice 3-11, Collins 3-2, Wellman 1-14; (S) Bartrum 6-112, Turner 6-72, Caldwell 2-37, Page 4-43.
