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Valley Breezes Past Sioux City West 76-6

The West Des Moines Valley Tigers do not believe in taking an opponent for granted. They should know…everyone wants to take their best shot at them.

The Tigers (6-1 overall, 3-0 district) carried that mindset onto the field against Sioux City West and cruised to a 76-6 win over the winless Wolverines (0-7, 0-3) Friday evening.

Valley went three-and-out on their first possession. It was the only time they would punt in the game. On West’s first drive, Valley’s Zach Grasso stepped in front of a Ricardo Quintana pass and rumbles in for a 46 yard touchdown with 9:38 left in the first quarter.

Valley would score on their next eight drives before the first half was over. Drew Gray took a Rocky Lombardi hand-off for a 22 yard score to make it 14-0. Gray would add two more touchdowns (from 3 and 6 yards) on the next two drives, and then Rocky Lombardi (5-11-0 111 yds, 2 touchdowns) threw a 44-yard strike to Austin Hronich to push the lead to 35-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, fullback Blake Salsbury got into the act with two scores of his own, a one yard dive into the end zone at 10:32 of the second quarter, and an 11 yard scamper four minutes later. Lombardi would connect with Dominique Dafney for a 27 yard touchdown and Javon Mason would tack on one final touchdown from 10 yards to make it a 62-0 lead at the half.

Drew Gray would finish with 12 carries for 90 yards, while Dafney had 5 receptions for 67 yards.

The lone bright spot for the Wolverines took place with 1:31 left in the third quarter when Noah McWell threw a 17 yard pass to Richardo Quintana for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked. It was the sixth touchdown of the season for West.

McWell, who started at running back but also plays quarterback, was 12-16 for 108 yards, while Quintana was 7-12 for 17 yards.  West was unable to gain traction in the ground game, totaling 22 yards on 32 rushing attempts. Jalen Roseland hauled in eight catches for 82 yards, most of it against the Valley defensive reserves.

Next week, Valley will head to Ankeny to take on the Centennial Jaguars (6-1, 3-0), while West will host Council Bluffs Abe Lincoln (3-4, 1-2) in a Thursday night contest.