SHADY SPRING, W.Va. — How important was Shady Spring’s 27-20 win at previously unbeaten Wyoming East last Friday?
Look no further than the thoughts offered from Tigers’ head coach Vince Culicerto in the moments after the thrilling victory over the Warriors.
“The boys played hard and they play hard all the time, but they really wanted this win big time and we were ready,” Culicerto said.
Although the Tigers won eight games en route to earning a No. 11 seed in the Class AA playoffs a year ago, last week’s win at the War Zone was among the bigger victories Shady Spring has notched in the last decade.
In the process, the Tigers (6-1) displayed traits that have put a nine-win regular season well within reach, which would almost certainly allow Shady Spring to host at least one playoff game.
The hard-hitting defense, which entered the game with the third fewest points allowed of any AA team at 44, held the Warriors to a season-low point total. Wyoming East came into the contest averaging more than 39 points per game, but the Tigers’ defense answered every challenge thrown their way down the stretch.
For a unit with three shutouts already on its resume this season, last week’s effort may have been the finest performance yet and was critical in the team’s fifth straight win.
“They beat the brakes off us in the first half,” Wyoming East coach Larry Thompson said. “We came out (better) in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get us over the hump.”
Offensively, Shady Spring relied heavily on quarterback Drew Clark and running backs Haven Chapman and Isaiah Valentine.
Chapman rushed for the Tigers’ first two touchdowns and Valentine accounted for the final two — one on the ground, the other on a 65-yard pass from Clark.
“We were running misdirection,” Culicerto said. “We saw on film that would work pretty good, so we stuck to it. We thought we could move the ball running.”
While the bulk of the Tigers’ damage came on the ground, the long TD pass came at the perfect time as it immediately answered the Warriors’ lone second-half touchdown, which had brought them to within one point.
The question moving forward becomes how Shady Spring, No. 11 in the latest WVSSAC playoff ratings, will handle a potential season-altering win and what the Tigers will do to prevent becoming complacent.
Shady Spring welcomes Oak Hill (2-5) on Friday, before battling Braxton County (0-7) in Week 9. The Tigers finish their regular season in Week 10 at Liberty Raleigh (4-2) and will have their bye before what will likely be a first-round playoff game.
“We knew it was going to be a wild one, but boy I’m proud of my team,” Culicerto said. “It’s a great win for us and we’re excited. Let’s see if we can keep it going.”