Sun Valley Vanguards Noah Griffin rushes to the promise land over … – PA Football News

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Ted Podberesky | September 15, 2023

West Chesters Henderson Warriors hosted the Sun Valley Vanguards tonight, looking to build from their win last week and continue their success. Sun Valley came into this game striving for revenge after a tough loss in week three of their season. The Vanguards showed true pride this Thursday night, coming to Henderson and taking home their first win of the season over the Warriors 33-30.

Henderson received the ball to start the game and wasted no time, coming out and showing a true passing attack. Sun Valley however, was ready for this kind of offense stopping the Warriors after a couple first downs and was given the ball after a punt. From there it was the start of running back Noah Griffins show.

It only took a couple plays for the Vanguards to score, keeping the ball on the ground and letting Noah Griffin rumble for a 57 yard touchdown. With five minutes remaining in the first the Warriors offense got to work with quarterback Braeden OConnell, who spread the rock all over tonight with his weapons downfield. Unfortunately, on this drive Henderson was only able to come away with a field goal with time winding down in the quarter.

Sun Valley kept the ball on the ground after the made field goal from the Warriors, showing no signs of slowing down their running game heading into the second quarter. Henderson had other things in mind however, plugging up the run with linebacker Charlie Watson and defensive end Logan Goodwin.

Braeden OConnell capitalized from the defensive stop and threw a beautiful spiral down the numbers to his wide receiver Seamus Murphy for a 54 yard touchdown. The Warriors were right back in the game leading the Vanguards 10-7. Sun Valley was stopped once again after getting the ball back and was forced to punt.

The Vanguards defense showed up big tonight with multiple tackles behind the line of scrimmage led by senior linebacker Ryan Creegan, who totaled the pack with four tackles for loss. Sun Valley made a big stop on third down inside their own territory and forced Henderson to try a field goal with just under three minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The snap was shot over the head of the holder and safety Matt Jackson for Sun Valley recovered. Quarterback RJ Sharrer quickly found his big tight end Aidan Cook over the middle for a 30 yard gain. Sharrer eventually found himself in the endzone making one man miss and tumbling in for the score on an 11 yard run. The Vanguards now led the Warriors 13-10 after a missed extra point to head into halftime.

Sun Valley got the ball back for the start of the third quarter and wasted no time going back to their tight end Aidan Cook, who caught a pass from Sharrer and ran for 67 yards. Running back Noah Griffin continued his game on the ground with a couple runs, before punching in an 8 yard touchdown run.

It wasnt long until Braeden OConnell commanded his offense down the field once again and found Evan Kearney who made a leaping 22 yard touchdown catch. With Henderson missing the extra point the score was 20-16 with a little over three minutes to go in the quarter. The Vanguards were soon stopped after getting the ball back with big tackles led by linebacker Aaron Nelson and cornerback Jake Ball.

The Warriors air raid game plan was still in full effect, mixing in plays with running back Matt Wagner. Henderson drove down the field into Sun Valley territory with ease before running into linebacker Ryan Creegan once again. OConnell threw a ball over the middle and was intercepted almost immediately by Creegan, who ran for green grass ahead on a 75 yard pick six.

Henderson blocked the extra point and got the ball back with under a minute to go in the third, Matt Wagner took some small runs before heading into the fourth. It was an all out war in the fourth quarter coming down to the last five final minutes of the game. With the Vanguards leading 26-16 Henderson needed a big play from some big time players, and thats exactly what happened.

With five minutes remaining in the quarter the Warriors dialed up a screen pass to Matt Wagner who caught the ball and ran for 64 yards down the field before being pushed out of bounds by Matt Jackson. The very next play OConnell found Evan Kearney on a 26 yard touchdown play.

The Vanguards kept the ball on the ground, chewing up the clock making sure the Warriors couldnt get it back. That was until Noah Griffin made a statement, breaking tackles and getting to the outside running down the sideline in a foot race to score a 69 yard touchdown.Sun Valley had pushed their lead to a two score game once again, looking to close out a win.

With the high powered offense that Henderson contained they still werent out of this game however. With two minutes remaining in the fourth OConnell kept finding his weapons, throwing a strike to junior Evan Stiles who was tackled down after a gain of 66 yards. The big play set up yet another touchdown for the Warriors after a busted coverage let Evan Kearney wide open to score his third touchdown of the game.

The Warriors got a stop on the Vanguards and got the ball back with under a minute to go, but it wasnt enough time. The Vanguards held the Warriors to a fourth down and forced a turnover on downs with eighteen seconds remaining. RJ Sharrer took a knee for the Vanguards to secure their first win of the season.

Head Coach Ernie Ellis for the Sun Valley Vanguards said after the game that, We showed extreme grit and when it came down to our moment we made the most of our opportunities, these young men deserved a win tonight and they got one.

Running Back Noah Griffin for Sun Valley who had a monster game on the ground with 247 rushing yards to pair with 3 touchdowns said that, Wins keep me motivated, these types of games with the teammates I play with goes a long way. Without my teammates and family none of this would be possible.

Linebacker Ryan Creegan for the Vanguards who combined for 9 solo tackles and 4 tackles for loss to go with a 75 yard pick six stated that, When Noah and I are on the field our energy is unmatched, we always seem to get things done. I guess you can say hes the O to my J.

Quarterback Braeden OConnell for the Henderson Warriors who had a spectacular game through the air, passing for over 260 yards and 4 touchdowns said that, The receivers and I have an unbreakable bond that goes a long way and I think that shows every time we step out onto the field, building a culture is what were here for and we have to keep doing that day in and day out.

Sun Valley takes on Avon Grove next week at home, while West Chester Henderson travels to Downingtown West.

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