Williams Valley outlasts rival Upper Dauphin in opener

Junior Brady Shomper passed for two TDs in Williams Valley's win over Upper Dauphin on Friday night.

ELIZABETHVILLE — Williams Valley head football coach Stephen Sedesse knows his team has a huge target on it for the 2024 season.

And there’s a good reason why.

The defending District 11 Class AA champions entered Friday night’s non-league game with Upper Dauphin as a favorite to either repeat or at least go far into the playoffs come November.

The Vikings proved their mettle with a hard-fought, 21-6 victory over the host Trojans at Veterans Memorial Field at Trojan Stadium.

Brady Shomper connected on two first-quarter touchdown passes to Kian Krzyzanowski and Brayden Crisswell, respectively, and freshman running back Fletcher Thompson showed brilliance running the football.

“The effort was outstanding tonight,” Sedesse said. “We had some plays where we didn’t execute. Some dropped balls that could have been touchdowns, but our kids played hard and got a defensive touchdown at the end of the game.

“(Shomper) threw the ball well and there were three or four drops. I was very impressed for his first start with a spread offense.”

Upper Dauphin, which was handed a 28-0 defeat in last year’s season opener at Williams Valley, showed great tenacity as running back Caleb Snyder gouged the Vikings’ defense for 111 yards on 22 carries.

And when Williams Valley went ahead with a quick 34-yard pass and catch between Shomper and Krzyzanowski to lead 7-0 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Trojans answered right back.

That six-play drive by the Vikes was answered by Upper Dauphin’s nine-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by Carter Dreibelbis’ 1-yard plunge. The PAT kick sailed wide to the left as Williams Valley held a 7-6 lead with 4:07 left in the quarter.

The Vikings’ Shomper, who finished with 92 yards passing on 7-of-11 attempts, again went to work on Williams Valley’s second offensive series.

The Vikes used an excellent mix of pass and run as Shomper converted 3-of-4 passes and busted off a 6-yard run.

On a third-and-7 from the Upper Dauphin 17, Shomper took a snap and looked right, getting the Trojans’ defense to bite, then came back to his left with a tight end screen to Criswell, who hauled in the pass and galloped down the Williams Valley sideline untouched into the end zone with 7.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Placekicker Sage Smeltz crushed her second PAT kick for a 14-6 advantage.

Probably even more impressive was the play of freshman running back Thompson, who finished the night with 89 yards on 21 carries.

“He runs so hard and he has great vision,” Sedesse said. “He’s very agile. He had a great scrimmage against Newport and he’s making the cuts we want him to make. Everyone on the offensive line is back from last year, and we expect them to hold things down for us up front.”

The score remained that way the rest of the first half, as both teams each turned the football over.

And when the Upper Dauphin offense appeared ready to get things in gear, the Williams Valley defense, led by 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior Bryce Zilinski, made a big play.

Zilinski busted his way through the Trojans’ offensive line to sack Upper Dauphin quarterback Aidan Bingaman for a huge loss and end a possible threat with 27 seconds left in the half.

Looking at just an eight-point deficit, Upper Dauphin took the second-half kickoff and marched from the Trojan 33 to the Vikings’ 8.

Snyder and Bingaman did most of the rushing, and Eoghan Savage, a 6-3, 205-pound sophomore tight end, hauled in a 39-yard catch from Bingman and was tough to bring down by the Vikings defense.

But again, Williams Valley rose to the occasion as Evan Kandybowski, a 6-0, 190-pound junior linebacker, drilled Bingaman for no gain on a fourth-and-3 deep in the red zone.

“Defense is one of those things that you don’t know who’s going to show up and make plays,” Sedesse said. “This week it was Zilinski who made two huge plays, and he had a sack late in the game which forced (Upper Dauphin) to take a timeout. He was impressive.”

And as the Trojans appeared to gain momentum, when it appeared they were ready to score, the Vikings defense shined.

Early in the fourth quarter Zilinski and Trevon Bair smothered Snyder on a fourth-and-3 at the Williams Valley 23.

From there, the Vikings put together a solid drive taking more than eight minutes off the clock.

With Thompson and Shomper rushing their way down the field, Williams Valley moved the ball to the Trojans’ 2.

On third-and-goal, Shomper mishandled the snap from center and Upper Dauphin recovered.

And as the Trojans attempted to move the ball from the shadows of their end zone, a most peculiar situation occurred.

On a third-and-18 a their own 5, Bingaman tossed a swing pass to Tyler Erdley who hauled in the pass, but Erdley fumbled the pigskin and Williams Valley’s Blazer Lords fell on the ball in the end zone for the final score.

“This was a good win for us,” Sedesse added.

Game Summary

Williams Valley 21, Upper Dauphin 6

Williams Valley (1-0)    14 0  0   7   — 21

Upper Dauphin (0-1)    6  0  0  0   —- 6

WV — Krzyzanowski 34 pass from Shomper (Smeltz kick)

UD — Dreibelbis 1 run (Kick failed)

WV — Crisswell 17 pass from Shomper (Smeltz kick)

WV — Lords fumble recovered in end zone (Smeltz kick)

Team Statistics

First downs —- 14 …….. 9

Rushes-Yards —- 35-153…… 31-98

Passing —– 7-11-0…….. 5-10-1

Passing Yards —- 92 …….. 73

Total Yards —- 245 ……. 171

Fumbles-Lost —- 2-2….. 0-0

Penalties —- 4-20……. 4-40

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Williams Valley — Thompson 21-89, Shomper 13-38, Lords 1-6. Upper Dauphin — Snyder 22-111, Dreibelbis 3-(-4), Bingaman 6-(-9).

PASSING: Williams Valley — Shomper 7-11-0, 92. Upper Dauphin — Bingaman 5-10-1, 73.

RECEIVING: Williams Valley — Krzyzanowski 4-60, Criswell 2-26, Lords 1-6. Upper Dauphin — Erdley 2-24, Savage 1-39, Snyder 1-7, Dreibelbis 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Williams Valley — E. Achenbach.