PINE GROVE, W.Va. — Senior quarterback Gavin Derby had a hand in all five Valley touchdowns as the Lumberjacks defeated Clay-Battelle, 33-7 Monday night at Thomas C. West Field.
The game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, September 13, but was postponed to Monday due to a social media threat.
Derby connected with Ryder Gravette (27 yards) and Koleton Kinkade (37 yards) on first-quarter scoring strikes. Derby later scored on rushing touchdowns of 5, 3 and 5 yards.
“There’s nobody like him,” said Valley head coach Logan Miller. “He is a better kid than he is a football player. He works at it. He works year-round and so do all these guys. He’s just a natural athlete and he is a leader in that locker room. He’s just a good person. I have a good football team because they follow him.”
Valley raced out to a 19-0 run before the Cee-Bees (1-2) found the scoreboard late in the second quarter. Braden Ponceroff found Landon Savage in the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown toss. However, Derby scored his second rushing touchdown in the final minute of the half to build a 25-7 lead. The Lumberjacks did not allow a point in the second half.
“We knew we had to stop the run and stop the traps. We are beefy up front. I have all seniors on the defensive line so we knew we could take care of the run. We struggle sometimes defending the pass. But we did pretty well tonight.”
Valley (3-0) looks for a second consecutive 4-0 start to the season when they visit Frontier, Ohio on Friday.
“We have twenty players. We have to stay healthy. Last year we had injuries that hurt. That’s why we started 4-0 and then kind of fell off from that because we had some injuries. If we stay healthy in key positions, we are going to be OK.”