In a battle of unbeaten teams fighting to be tied at the top of the Black Diamond Conference, it was the Sesser-Valier Red Devils who came away with a dominant 32-0 win over the Carmi-White County Bulldogs in Week 4.
After the first quarter of play, this game seemed like it was bound to be a defensive battle. Neither team scored in the first quarter, but once Sesser got in their rhythm, they didn’t look back.
The Red Devils scored the first points of the game on an 11-yard touchdown run by Caeden Hicks. The two-point conversion was no good, Sesser led 6-0 with 8:50 left to go in the 2nd quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs moved the ball all the way inside the Sesser 35 yard line, but an incomplete pass on 4th down & 10 turned the ball back over the the Devils.
Four plays later, Sesser-Valier once again found paydirt, this time on a 30-yard pass from Trace Payne to Kyan Short. Giving the Red Devils a 12-0 lead at the break.
Although it felt like Sesser-Valier dominated the 2nd quarter, it was still just a two-possession game going in the 2nd half. However, the Bulldogs needed to force a punt on the opening drive of the half, and they didn’t. The Red Devils faced a 3rd and 19 at the Carmi 27 yard line, but with a beautifully executed screen pass to the fullback Hicks, Sesser was able to convert and then score on the very next play to push their lead to 18-0.
The Bulldogs had opportunities, but they simply could not finish their drives. Every time Carmi got inside the Red Devil 30 yard line, they couldn’t move. The Bulldogs went a combined 1-for-5 on 4th down in the game.
Sesser-Valier ran away in the 4th quarter with a 76-yard touchdown run by Jace Erwin, and a 12-yard touchdown run by Jaxon Borta to put the final tally at 32-0.
It was the first time the Bulldogs had been shutout in a game since Week 2 of the 2021 spring season.
The Bulldogs fall to 3-1 on the season, Sesser-Valier improves to 4-0 to stay tied atop the BDC.
BDC Standings:
Johnston City (4-0)
Sesser-Valier (4-0)
Carmi-White Co. (3-1)
Flora (3-1)
Fairfield (2-2)
Eldorado (2-2)
Hamilton Co. (2-2)
Edwards Co. (0-4)
CZR (0-4)
Stats: (courtesy of Toby Brown & crew)
RUSHING
(SV) Jace Erwin – 16 rushes, 224 yards, TD
(CWC) Noah Pollard – 30 rushes, 131 yards
(CWC) Kade Stockton – 8 rushes, 47 yards
(CWC) Kale Wiggins – 2 rushes, 41 yards
(SV) Dawson Nutt – 7 rushes 38 yards
(SV) Caeden Hicks – 6 rushes, 34 yards, 2 TD
(SV) Liam McMurray – 1 rush, 20 yards
(SV) Trace Payne – 3 rushes, 17 yards
(SV) Jaxon Borta – 2 rushes, 16 yards, TD
(CWC) Dakota Brown – 2 rushes, 10 yards
(SV) Ty Galloway – 1 rush, 6 yards
(CWC) Cooper Hill – 1 rush, 5 yards
(CWC) Cade Allen – 1 rush, -1 yards
(CWC) Branson Burnett – 1 rush, -1 yards
PASSING
(CWC) Madden Anderson 2-for-4, 4 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
(SV) Trace Payne 3-for-5, 46 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
RECEIVING
(CWC) Kade Stockton – 2 catches, 4 yards
(SV) Kyan Short – 1 catch, 30 yards, 1 TD
(SV) Caeden Hicks – 1 catch, 21 yards
(SV) Kyler Willmore – 1 catch, -5 yards
TOTAL OFFENSE
CWC – 236
SV – 401
FIRST DOWNS
CWC – 14 (14 rush, 0 pass, 0 penalty)
SV – 20 (18 rush, 2 pass, 0 penalty)
PENALTY
CWC – 1 for 5 yards
SV – 1 for 10 yards
TIME OF POSSESSION
CWC – 26:37
SV – 21:23
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS
CWC – 2 / 9
SV – 6 / 8
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS
CWC – 1 / 5
SV – 0 / 0
TACKLES
Noah Pollard – 10, 2 TFL
Stone McGhee – 9
Kade Stockton – 7, 1 TFL
Kale Wiggins – 7
Jazz Duckworth – 4, 1 TFL
Cade Allen – 3
Madden Anderson – 2
Josyah Perez – 2
Cole Evans – 1
Javan Agen – 1
Dakota Brown – 1
Easton Sullivan – 1
SCORING PLAYS
-First Quarter
None
-Second Quarter
SV – Caeden Hicks 11 run (run failed), 8:50 (6-0 SV)
SV – Kyan Short 30 catch from Trace Payne (run failed), 1:16 (12-0 SV)
-Third Quarter
SV – Hicks 6 run (run failed), 8:37 (18-0 SV)
-Fourth Quarter
SV – Jace Erwin 76 run (Short catch from Payne), 7:46 (26-0 SV)
SV – Jaxon Borta 12 run (run failed), 2:06 (32-0 SV)
