River Valley arrives

In the midst of bear hugs, gushing parents, grown men jumping like 6-year-olds and even a Gatorade bath in a September non-conference football game, one of Friday night's heroes summed-up the mass celebration in a way only a teenager could.

"Oh my gosh," Greg Cannon said.

It has taken five seasons, but the start-up has its "stepping stone."

River Valley, the Mid-Valley's youngest school, a team that went 2-8 last year, a program that felt disrespected and went to the weight room to quell its angst, now has its marquee win.

The Falcons beat Sutter, 23-20.

"Everybody who is part of this team had something to do with this," said running back Dustin Terrell, yelling to an approving lot of players huddled in the north end zone.

They scored first off a 71-yard run by Terrell.

They rallied after falling behind twice. First with a 32-yard breakaway from Troy Thomason right before halftime and again with 2:07 left in the game, when the team's quarterback made the best pass of his young career: a 48-yard strike from the arm of Cannon to a streaking O'Dell Sallis.

They opened up holes on the line, allowing the backfield to amass 362 yards rushing.

They capitalized off turnovers, turning a muffed punt into a 26-yard field goal and a late-game fumble, a play that may fuel controversy, into the winning touchdown.

"We believed in ourselves and that's all that mattered," Falcons coach Brandon Asher said. "This is our stepping stone. For all the naysayers around town, River Valley is on the map, boys."

That seminal moment didn't come without a sweat-filled final quarter, which was compounded by a stomach-churning final two minutes that turned Asher's gray polo shirt into a saturated dish rag.

River Valley (2-0) entered the final 12 minutes with a 16-13 lead after a scoreless third quarter, then watched its small cushion burst 47 seconds into the final period. With a defense that's heavy on hitting and soft on secondary coverage, the Falcons were burned on a 45-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Trent Little to Elijah Smith. It was the second time Smith burned the Falcons. In the second quarter, the junior running back answered Terrell's 71-yard run with a 58-yard rushing touchdown of his own.

The Falcons pushed back, rushing straight up the middle to set up a red zone opportunity in the final six minutes. It ended with nothing. On third and four on the five-yard line, Cannon fumbled the snap and Sutter stuffed Thomason on fourth down.

But the Huskies, who were looking to get back to .500 after losing their opener, instead are 0-2. On the following possession, Smith lost a fumble after a 29-yard run that would have likely iced the game. Though the referees awarded the ball to the Falcons, video taken by the Appeal-Democrat shows his foot was out of bounds before the fumble was forced.

Still, the Falcons had to convert on the opportunity. It took one play. Asher, who opted to run the ball all game, decided to give Cannon a shot to let it fly.

"It's your time to shine," he told his quarterback.

He did just that.

Sutter answered with a down-the-field bomb of its own, but River Valley shut down the Huskies on fourth-and-9, deep in their own territory. Then came the quarterback kneel and the celebration, one deep sigh of relief from the Falcons coach.

"The ups and downs of that game," Asher said, his voice trailing off. "It was a long last minute and a half."