Football: No. 3 Valley Christian survives scare at No. 22 St. Ignatius
Third-ranked Valley Christian got more than it bargained for Saturday afternoon during a West Catholic Athletic League contest in San Francisco.
The Warriors found themselves trailing in the second half for the first time this season against No. 22 St. Ignatius, but a pair of short touchdowns runs by fullback Michael Corini in the fourth quarter helped secure a 17-7 victory on the road.
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Valley Christian (5-0, 2-0 WCAL), which precariously led 3-0 at the half, fell behind with 1:41 left in the third quarter after St. Ignatius quarterback Teddye Buchanan hit wide receiver Danny Ryan on a 6-yard fade.
Facing third-and-long on the ensuing drive, Valley Christian quarterback Cory Taylor connected with wide receiver Deven Vanderbilt on a 43-yard catch. On the first play of the fourth quarter, running back Isaiah McElvane converted a fourth down by a matter of inches, then freshman Jurrion Dickey caught a pass at the 2-yard line. On the next snap, Corini plowed his way into the end zone to make it 10-7 with 10:13 left.
St. Ignatius (3-2, 1-1) pushed to reclaim the lead, only to see Valley Christian free safety Kavir Bains intercept a deep throw down the sideline.
In a near case of déjà vu, faced with third-and-long the Warriors completed another 43-yard pass, this one to a wide open Dickey on a crossing route. Taylor finished 9 of 17 for 147 yards while going for big chunks early and often.
From that point, Valley Christian was able to establish the run and McElvane (18 carries, 70 yards) got loose for a 23-yard gain that set up Corini’s second TD, this time from 4 yards out with 3:59 left.
Washington State commit Moon Ashby sealed the game with an interception on fourth down in St. Ignatius territory.
The only points of the first half came on a 29-yard field goal by Lucas Ramirez, who on the previous play saw his initial attempt blocked, but Bains gathered the loose ball and nearly scored a TD that was called back because of penalty on the Warriors.