Balance key in River Valley victory

UPPER SANDUSKY – River Valley combined a stout defense with a balanced offensive attack in winning its season opener 32-7 here Friday night.

“We saw a lot of good things out of the team tonight,” said RV coach Doug Green. “We’re going to go back and work on some things. We made a lot of mistakes.”

Green assuredly was referring to 55 yards in penalties and two lost fumbles.

But the Vikings displayed plenty of offense, piling up 208 total yards in the first half for a 26-7 lead.

Quarterback Jax Harville operated from a clean pocket and hit on 14 of 22 passes, including a 6-yard toss to fellow senior Carson Parsell as time expired.

“We worked hard all summer on the passing game, and obviously that will be one of our strengths,” Green said.

The RV defense also was stingy, limiting the hosts to just 85 total yards in the half, with 54 coming on a scoring pass from Sam Musgrave to Cory Miller.

Sam Troutman brought back a punt 69 yards for a score to put the Vikes on top 13-0 moments after Zack Warwick blasted into the end zone from the 3.

The third quarter was fairly even with both teams struggling to move the ball. RV used its running game of Zack Warwick, Zach Hill and Evan Brandyberry to move the football.

Harville again found Parsell from 7 yards out and the wideout’s juggling catch put the Vikings ahead 32-7. That was the lone score of the second half.

“We got the win even though we made mistakes. It’s crucial to get that win right out of the gate. We played a lot of kids and got them on film and see where we can be hopefully down the road,” Green said.

Balance was a key for the Vikings.

“We had a lot of backs (nine total) touch the ball tonight and want to be as balanced as we possibly can.”

The Vikings’ defense limited Upper to 163 total yards, with just 65 through the air.

“Our defense over the last six years has been very, very solid. We lean on them to set the tone for us,” Green said.

Madison comes to town Friday night and the Rams will pose a challenge, he added.

“They’re a bigger school. Last year, Mansfield Madison had a terrific run into the playoffs. They are similar to us in that they were hit by graduation. They are going to bring that bigger school attitude and game, but those are the games we’ve got to play in if we are going to reach our goals at the end of the season.”

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