WV Eagles takes football Section II semifinal game

Photo by Paul Robeson

LOOKING FOR OSTROM: Junior Josh Barrett (10) looks for his receiver down field. Barrett added 30 yards in passing, one pass to Eathan Ostrom for a touchdown.

Photo by Paul Robeson

ADDING YARDAGE: West Valley junior Bobby Guyton (20) rolls off his right side with a Wheatland player in hot pursuit. West Valley had racked up a 35-7 lead by halftime.

The West Valley Eagles went into the semifinal football game running and at the end of the Wheatland-West Valley first half they had five touchdowns on the scoreboard.

Last year at this time, West Valley lost in the semifinal game against Gridley 17-15. It ended what had been, especially for the Eagle seniors, a three-year section title shot.

This year they went against No. 3 Wheatland, who had nine wins and two losses, and the objective was to get back the chance at the title – and the Eagles did it posthaste.

The running game was great for the Eagles as fullback Northern Athletic League (NAL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Andy Miller racked up 140 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns on 15 carries. Wingback Ethan Ostrom, also a NAL MVP, added 78 yards on nine carries and he also had two touchdowns. Bobby Guyton added another 73 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns and teammate Nick Johnston put on 34 more yards on eight carries.

In the air, Josh Barrett threw three times and added 30 yards to the Eagles game. One of those passes went to Ostrom for his touchdown. Ostrom also returned a kick for 47 yards and then, several plays later, Guyton went in for the score

The Eagles defense was also in top form as they held the Pirates to only 77 yards in the entire first half of the game. Wheatland’s T.J. Helton had two touchdowns against the Eagles with running back Andrew McCleary running 138 yards for the Pirates — but they could not keep up with the high-flying Eagles.

The Eagles had started slow this season but picked up speed as the season progressed. The non-league games at the beginning of the season gave the Eagles hits from Foothill, 41-7, and from the Chico Panthers, 21-15. West Valley did beat Shasta High School on Sept. 14 but lost to Sutter, 17-10, the next week on Sept. 21.

West Valley went into yesterday’s championship game against No. 1 Sutter in the section finals with eight game wins in a row. Yesterday’s game results were not available at press time.