Coming into the game, St. Andrew's knew they had a daunting task facing Valwood, ranked among the top 10 teams in the GIAA AAA. It was their season opener, and the Valiants featured Division I prospect running back junior Tristan White.
The host Lions saw their share of White in the opening half and managed to stay in step with the Valiants, but attrition eventually caught up with them in a 50-29 loss in the home opener. St. Andrews opened the season with a 34-0 shutout over Thomas Jefferson Academy on the road last week.
White ran for 91 yards (118 overall) and had a pair of scores in the opening half that helped his team to a 29-15 lead. Valwood took advantage of two bad punts from St. Andrew's – one that sailed into the stands and another out of bounds – that totaled a combined 15 yards and seized the opportunities of good field positions in both cases to post two scores in a combined total of 55 seconds.
White scored on a 10-yard burst up the middle, and 55 seconds later, teammate De'Mar Riley dashed around the left end for a 24-yard scamper that seemingly gave Valwood a 29-15 cushion with 50 seconds left in the first half.
However, St. Andrew's rallied to march 80 yards on an impressive drive in the final 50 seconds that resulted in quarterback Zayden Edwards finding Richaard Williams, who made a diving catch in the left corner of the end zone to help the Lions narrow the gap to 29-22 at the half.
But St. Andrew's couldn't stop an opening second-half Valwood drive, as the Valiants went 65 yards on six plays that culminated when quarterback Tayt Snellgrove went in from a yard out that pushed their advantage back to a two-touchdown lead at 37-22 left in the third quarter.
St. Andrew's then moved the ball down to the Valwood six-yard line, but their drive stalled when they were flagged for consecutive offsides calls and couldn't convert a fourth down.
The Lions again closed the gap to 36-29 when Edwards converted a fourth down on a three-yard pass to Charles Strain, but they couldn't get any closer.
St. Andrew's head coach, Kevin Pisant, pointed to the difference on the sidelines, where Valwood had more than twice as many players dressed as the Lions. He was optimistic after his team took an 8-0 lead on the opening drive of the game when Edwards scored on an 11-yard run and then ran in a two-point conversion.
"It's just sheer numbers," he stated. "We dress 23 and they have 48. We knew we could struggle because they have a Division One running back. But we hung them a little but in the first quarter. It came down to depth."
Pisant was pleased with his team's overall effort.
"We keep battling, and we never quit," he added. "I thought we were better on the offensive line against their defensive line. We wanted to get the ball out quick on the passing game. That's a very good football team, and I don't know who is going to stop them."
Edwards, who was noticeably limping in the second half and was on the run most of the night, is confident his team can rebound when they host John Paul II next week. Edwards finished with 142 yards passing with three touchdown passes and 32 yards rushing.
"We knew they would come pretty deep," he said. "We had some momentum going into the second half, but they came out and scored right away.
"We'll be back strong next week. We'll watch the film to learn what we did well and didn't do well."
Valwood 50, St. Andrews 29
V – 7-22-7-14—50
SA – 8-14-0-7- 29
First quarter
SA – Richaard Williams 34 pass from Zayden Edwards (Edwards run)
V – Triston White 27 run (Will Trickett kick)
Second quarter
SA - Amari Cook 6 run (Charles Strain kick)
V – Andrew Belcher 78 interception return (Trickett kick)
V- White 10 run (Dallas Hatfield run)
V - De'Mar Riley 24 run (Trickett kick)
SA - Williams 25 pass from Edwards (Strain kick)
Third quarter
V – Tayt Snellgrove 1 run (Trickett kick)
Fourth quarter
SA– Strain 3 pass from Edwards (Strain kick)
V – Marquis Fennell 16 run (Trickett kick)
V- Fennell 43 run (Trickett kick)
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
FINAL SCORES WEEK 1
Aug. 24 (Thursday)
Savannah Christian 56, Islands 14
Savannah Country Day 52, Pinewood Christian 0
Aug. 25 (Friday)
Ware County 28, Richmond Hill 7
Bradwell 26, Liberty County 13
Jenkins 41, Bluffton 30
Benedictine 42, Chambers 9
New Hampstead 59, Windsor Forest a6
Vidalia 61, Beach 0
Brantley County 30, Groves 0
Bryan County 51, Treutlen 0
Richmond Academy 41, Savannah High 0
Bethesda 44, John Paul II 0
Memorial Day 14, Fullington Academy 0
Valwood 50, St. Andrew's 29
Aug. 26 (Saturday)
Burke Co. 10, Effingham County 6
PHOTO CREDIT: Banks Fana Photography
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Optim Orthopedics supports Prep Sports and the following schools; Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institute, Calvary Day School, Liberty County High School,Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School, Bradwell Institue, and Liberty County's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game.
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