Valwood Valiants run over Brookwood in title game
Nov. 6—THOMASVILLE — Though the Brookwood Warriors entered Friday night's contest against Valwood with championship aspirations, the Warriors quickly discovered that this title game would be a very difficult battle.
It was evident from the get-go as Valwood impressively stuffed Brookwood and forced a three-and-out. They followed that up with quick touchdown on a long and nifty run by De'Mar Riley. A failed two-point conversion left the Valiants with a six-point lead, a lead they would never relinquish.
Valwood lived off a steady diet of stifling defense and a consistent rushing attack. Their defense continued to break down the Warriors offense, forcing multiple three-and-outs and not allowing the Warriors a first down until the final seconds of the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the Valwood offense could not be stopped. Freshman Marquis Fennell punched in Valwood's second touchdown of the game and, with 15 seconds left in the first quarter, Valwood had a 26-0 lead.
But the Warriors' offense wasn't ready to relent. On the first play of the second quarter, QB Rodge Waldrop found his receiver on a 46-yard touchdown pass, giving Brookwood life. The second quarter was the most competitive as Brookwood outscored the Valiants 22-20 in the frame.
Though Valwood continued to display its impressive ground attack with running back Triston White scoring multiple touchdowns in the quarter, the Warriors had a rhythm of their own.
Waldrop found the end zone once more on a 12-yard pass to Elon commit TJ Thomas and hit Rex Schofill for the two-point conversion. Waldrop put another pass on the money for his third TD of the quarter and the Warriors had cut the lead to 19. Head coach Shane Boggs credited his team's execution as the reason for their success to end the half.
"Execution. We did a really good job getting the ball in the hands of some really good football players," Boggs said. "We executed better and then you start building on positive momentum, which I've always said momentum is a huge factor in high school football."
Unfortunately, the Warriors tried and failed to recover multiple onside kicks, which gave the Valiants' dominant run game a short field for a further advantage. Valwood scored in just two plays, but the Warriors responded as Thomas lowered his shoulder to cap off another scoring drive. The Warriors wouldn't give up, but the Valiants refused to let them back in the game.
At the end of the half, Valwood's Fennell took it 57 yards on the ground to cap off a three-play, 39-second scoring drive to make it 54-28 Valwood headed into halftime.
The second half felt like a formality, though things did get chippy as Valwood continued to pour it on. Multiple late hit penalties and a horsecollar tackled spurred the Warriors' sideline into a frenzy as they grew more frustrated with the game.
Valwood's run game was simply too dominant.
Brookwood finished the game with a 13 yard rushing touchdown by Thomas and a failed onside kick. Valwood celebrated its 77-42 victory with a region title raised high above their heads.
Overall, the Warriors had a very successful season. They finished with an overall record of 6-4 and suffered just a single regional defeat.
"I think we continued to prove that we are overcomers. We're fighters, we're resilient and I'm proud of that," said Boggs. "It's been a wild ride for sure, because we've had so many momentum changes and so many highs on offense and some lows on defense. I'm proud of our kids and our coaches. For the most part we've stayed focused. In a lot of ways our team has improved throughout the year."
With a second place region finish, Brookwood will now look to the playoffs where they will face Pinewood Christian in the first round. Valwood earned a first round bye and will play either Southland Academy or Lakeview Academy.
