Peterson’s blocked punt changes momentum, Grizzlies roll past Chargers

One big play can change the dynamic on a football team’s sideline when things aren’t going as planned.

Spring Valley’s Branden Peterson demonstrated that with a game-changing play in the third quarter on Thursday. The junior blocked a punt deep in Clark territory and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to give his team the momentum on the way to a 37-6 win over the visiting Chargers.

“We always start slow,” Grizzlies coach Marcus Teal said. “But we just find a way to kick start later. We find that one drive, or one play that just gets us going. We try to do our best and practice special teams every day. I’m the special teams coordinator and it’s one of those things where I try to put an onus on making plays when we have to. We knew what their punt team was capable of doing and (Branden) made a play.”

After trailing 6-3 at halftime, the Grizzlies responded by scoring 34 unanswered points.

“We were playing good defense up to that point,” Teal said. “It was a 6-3 game. They were stymying us early in the first half and we just couldn’t get an opportunity to move the ball. It was just a matter of pushing through and finding a spark to use.”

Peterson’s blocked punt was exactly what the team needed, as his touchdown gave the Grizzlies a 17-6 lead. But that was just the beginning for Spring Valley’s ensuing dominance.

Clark (2-2, 1-1 Sunset League) found itself on the scoreboard first after a Marquice Stuart took a screen pass from Nick Kinnard and went 62 yards down the sideline with 3 minutes, 1 second to go in the first quarter. A failed 2-point run made it 6-0.

After a slew of penalties and turnovers in the first quarter, Spring Valley got an 18-yard field goal from Christian Tasi to trim the lead to 6-3 with 7:03 to go in the half.

Spring Valley (2-2, 1-1) had just 68 yards of offense in the first half, but found its groove on the ground in the second half. Tasi and Michael Bianco accounted for 182 rushing yards in the second half.

Tasi had a 9-yard TD run with 6:10 left in the third to make it 10-6. He finished 5 of 13 passing for 36 yards and added 139 yards rushing and a touchdown on 13 carries. He also had an interception on defense.

Bianco finished with 20 carries for 77 yards. He had a 4-yard TD run to make it 23-6 with 1:39 left in the third for Spring Valley, which also got 36 yards and a score from Antonio Wallace.

Wallace’s 3-yard TD plunge put the game away with 2:24 remaining. Niro Lee Mamaia put a stamp on the win with a 38-yard interception return on the Chargers’ next possession.

Clark’s Ty’Rek Wells was held to 45 yards on 13 carries. The Chargers finished with just 49 rushing yards, including zero net yards in the first half.

“We set a goal this week to stop their running game,” Teal said. “Our defense has played well all year. Our run (defense) is what we try to pride ourselves on. We’ve got some big boys that play down there in the trenches and we just want them to get in the backfield and cause some havoc and make some plays.”

Nick Kinnard was 8 of 18 for 116 yards with a TD and three interceptions for Clark, which got 96 receiving yards from Stuart.