Game Stories
Thursday August 28
Apple Valley played host to the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles
Thursday night, August 28th. It was a perfect night for
football and the start of the 2008 season.
Apple Valley scored first on a 60 yard punt return by Varmah
Sonie. After a pass interception by Steve Parks, Varmah
scored the second Eagle touchdown with a 50 yard pass
completion from quarterback, Boomer Hermes.
In
the second quarter, Bloomington scored on a 59 yard break
away run. Apple Valley answered on a 1 yard run by Dennis
Braselman. At halftime AV was winning 21 to 6.
The
third quarter started out a battle of defenses. Bloomington
narrowed our lead with a 4 yard pass but AV came back by
driving the ball on several long run plays and an untimely
pass interference call against Kennedy. AV scored again
with a 4 yard run by Varmah Sonie.
The
fourth quarter saw Bloomington score a final touchdown but
it was too late as Apple Valley won their first game 28 to
18.
Go Eagles!!!
Friday September
5
The Apple Valley Eagles visited the home of the Eastview
Lightning Friday night, September 5th. A win for
either team meant bragging rights between the two cross town
rivals. The press predicted Eastview would win big with
their powerhouse, smash mouth type of football. Run it off
tackle and just try to stop us.
The first half of the game saw both teams move the ball on
occasion. The Eagles drove all the way down to the Lightning
one yard line but failed to convert a field goal. Both
teams went into half time zero to zero.
On the
first Lightning possession of the second half, Eastview
moved the ball down the field and scored the game’s first
touchdown on an uncovered pass play. Even though protested,
the Lightning were up 7 to 0. Apple Valley came right back
with a long drive down the field and scored on a 26 yard
pass from Boomer Hermes to David Bauer. Tied up again, the
third quarter ended 7 to 7.
During the fourth quarter both defenses held firm. With 5
minutes left to play AV was again in the Eastview “red zone”
but failed to capitalize. Eastview, taking the ball over
after the blocked field goal, fumbled the snap and the
Eagles were provided another opportunity to score. Matt
Gurtcheff put AV ahead for good with a 1 yard run into the
end zone. In desperation Eastview completed a long pass and
seemed to have an eleventh hour chance to tie the game but
Varmah Sonie came up big with an outstanding pass
interception. This sealed the game as AV celebrated a 2 and
0 start while Eastview quietly departed and went home to
regroup.
Go Eagles!!!
Friday
September 12
Apple
Valley hosted Bloomington Jefferson on Friday, September 12,
on what was another beautiful night for football. A win
would keep the Eagles perfect for the season and provide
payback for a tough loss at Jefferson last year.
Apple
Valley received the opening kickoff, and after trading
possessions with Jefferson, struck first on a 48 yard pass
from Boomer Hermes to Ray Watson, with the PAT by Thomas
Obarski. Later in the first quarter an interception by
Tevis Wilson gave the ball back to Valley. Several passes
from Hermes to Varmah Sonie put the Eagles back in scoring
position, and they capitalized with a touchdown dive by Matt
Gurtcheff, with another PAT by Obarski. The second quarter
saw Jefferson’s Moses Alipate connect on several passes,
setting up a short run for a score. Later in the quarter,
Jefferson came back with another touchdown to tie the score
at 14-14. The Eagles fought right back, however, after a
long kickoff return by Sonie to the Jefferson 38 and a
touchdown pass to Watson to pull ahead. Logan Moorse
connected with Matt Gurtcheff for a surprise 2 point
conversion.
The
Eagles stopped Jefferson to start the second half, and
increased their lead after a nice drive featuring a long
Hermes to Watson connection and a key 1st down
run by Bryce Molden, capped by a 14 yard touchdown run by
Wilson. The defensive line of the Eagles continued to put
good pressure on Alipate the second half, forcing him to
scramble much of the time. Jefferson eventually drove deep
into Valley territory, but the defense held and forced
Jefferson to go for it on a 4th and 13. Valley
came back with a nice sustained drive, anchored by some
strong running by Molden and Gurtcheff, with good offensive
line work. The drive led to a field goal by Obarski.
Jefferson came back with one more try and succeeded in
scoring another touchdown, but it was too late for a rally.
The Jefferson on-side kick was recovered by Valley, and the
win was locked up.
Friday September 19
The Eagles suffered their first defeat at the hands of
the Wayzata Trojans. The start of the game was
especially rocky with the Eagles allowing a pass
interception which led to a quick Wayzata touchdown. On
the second series of downs, AV mishandled a punt with
the ball going out of the back of the end zone for a
Wayzata safety. On the next Trojan possession Wayzata
again scored making it 16 to 0. The Eagles roared back
with a 69 yard pass from Boomer Hermes to Ray Watson.
David Bauer caught a pass for the 2-point conversion.
After a Wayzata fumble on the next series of downs,
Varmah Sonie ran back a 45 yard punt return. Apple
Valley was back in the game again with the score Wayzata
16 – AV 14. Unfortunately, the Trojans were able to
score again before the first half ended and the score
was 23 to 14.
During the third quarter both teams showed very strong
defenses. Only Wayzata was able to score one more
touchdown. Apple Valley had some tough injuries,
especially to Ray Watson, and Wayzata was able to
capture the momentum in the fourth quarter. They scored
twice more and the Eagles will have to regroup before
next week’s conference game against Lakeville North.
The good thing about last Friday’s game is that it was a
non-conference game. The loss does not go against AV in
their sectional standings. Keep the faith as the Eagles
will return stronger than ever with a win over Lakeville
North next Friday. Come out and support your team as we
will be tailgating before the game. Watch your e-mail
for details.
Go
Eagles!!!
Friday
September 26
In a
battle of 3-1 Lake Conference rivals, the Lakeville North
Panthers surprised the Apple Valley Eagles last Friday night
by the score of 46-13. The night got off to a rough start
for the Eagles when they were penalized on the opening
kickoff and ended up taking possession deep in their own
territory. After failing to make a first down in their
first series, the Eagles were forced to punt from their own
endzone and Lakeville returned the kick to the Eagles’ 35
yard line. Though the Apple Valley defense forced Lakeville
to earn every yard, the Panthers converted several third
down opportunities and ultimately pushed across the game’s
opening touchdown and conversion.
Despite this setback, the Eagles took the ensuing kickoff
and, using an inspired mix of runs and passes, moved the
ball steadily down the field. After a spectacular run by
Bryce Molden put the ball at the Panthers’ 12 yard line,
Varmah Sonie took a handoff from Boomer Hermes around left
end and vaulted into the endzone to cut the Lakeville North
lead to 7-6.
From
there, the tide of the game turned against the Eagles.
Untimely Eagle turnovers, coupled with strong running and
passing attacks by the Panther offense, put Apple Valley on
its heels and ultimately yielded 5 unanswered touchdowns by
the Lakeville North offense. By the end of the third
quarter, the Panthers held a 40-6 advantage and Apple Valley
was reeling. Though Tevis Wilson took a Joey Besong option
pitch 90 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter, it
was too little too late and the game ended with a 46-13
advantage held by the Panthers.
Next
week the Eagles travel to Lakeville South to take on the 3-2
Cougars, losers to Eastview by the score of 42-14 in its
last outing. We hope to see you all there!
Friday
October 3
Friday
night the Eagles had a tough game against Lakeville South.
The first quarter ended scoreless as both defenses held the
opposing offenses. The Eagles had a potential scoring
opportunity late in the quarter but were unable to
capitalize on it. David Bauer, tight end for AV, had a knee
injury and had to come out of the game. He should be back
in time for the playoffs.
The
second quarter started with a long drive by Lakeville and
culminated with a touchdown score on a 55 yard pass play.
To add insult to injury Lakeville then surprised Apple
Valley with a successful onside kickoff and scored again on
a 29 yard pass play. Lakeville South scored a third time
before the half ended on a 61 yard punt return. Our Eagles
found themselves down 21 to 0 as they went to the locker
room to regroup.
As the
third quarter started, things seemed to turn in the Eagles
favor. After a 3 and out defensive stand, AV scored on a
long drive culminated by an 8 yard run by Tevis Wilson. A
fake extra point and a successful pass from Boomer Hermes to
Matt Gurtcheff got Apple Valley 8 points on the scoreboard.
The defense held again and the Eagles were in scoring
position. However, as destiny would have it the Eagles were
turned away and the momentum shifted back to Lakeville. The
Cougars scored one more time on a 37 yard run. Matt
Ploenzke recovered a fumble to stop another potential
Lakeville score but it was too late.
With
only three minutes left to play Tevis Wilson sustained what
looked like a very serious injury and had to be taken from
the field by ambulance. Later that night he was released
and it appears sustained a serious concussion. He should be
able to play again very soon. The Eagles now will turn
their attention to Friday night’s game against Rosemount.
Friday
October 10
Going
into Friday night’s game, the Eagles were a little beat up
as several starters in key positions were unable to play.
That didn’t stop Apple Valley from playing extremely well
against the conference leading Rosemount Irish. After the
first quarter kick-off, the Irish were able to move down the
field and scored on a 31-yard long pitch play, out of the
option. However, Boomer Hermes and the Eagles came right
back by connecting on a 58-yard touchdown pass to Alex
Walls.
The
second quarter saw AV recover a fumble and take the ball all
the way down to the Irish 3-yard line. Unfortunately, a
fumbled snap gave the Irish the ball back and they were able
to move all the way down the field for a 14 to 7 lead at
half.
The
second half saw Apple Valley move the ball quite well,
particularly with runs by Matt Gurtcheff and Boomer Hermes,
but they were unable to capitalize. Rosemount scored a
third touchdown late in the third quarter and led 21 to 7.
In the
fourth quarter, the Irish scored once more with a 20-yard
field goal. Final score: Rosemount 24, Apple Valley 7.
Next up for Apple Valley is Eagan on Wednesday night, as
both teams get ready for the play-offs. AV looks like they
will have some key starters back in the line-up and is
poised to be able to bring multiple formations to their
offense. In truth, the Eagles are playing stronger now as
they can move the ball both with the pass and the run.
Support your Eagles as we “fly high” into the post season.
Wednesday October 15
The
Eagles came together Wednesday night to secure a win against
the Eagan Wildcats. Both the offense and defense played as
teams to upstage Eagan and secure a third place seating in
the upcoming sectional play-offs. The game started with
Eagan collecting the opening kick-off and driving the ball
deep into Eagle territory. The Wildcats tried to convert a
4th and long situation but came up short and
empty handed. Now Apple Valley had a chance to retaliate.
The Eagles, as well, marched the ball down the field but
were unable to convert on a field goal.
The
rest of the first half became a defensive struggle. AV was
able to pick off several passes throughout the game by
Varmah Sonie and Matt Gurtcheff but Eagan kept us out of the
end zone as well. At half-time the score was deadlocked at
zero to zero.
Immediately in the second half the Eagles turned on the
after burners. The first drive saw Matt Gurtcheff score on
a 40 yard run and after a successful point after attempt;
Apple Valley led 7 to nothing. Now the Eagle defense took
over and completely shut down the Wildcats. Eagan could
barely move the ball on several drives and punted. On our
next drive, the offense again drove down the field with the
ground game and Matt Gurtcheff scored his second rushing TD
with an 8 yard run. Before the end of the third quarter the
Eagles scored a third time with Matt Gurtcheff on a 6 yard
run.
In the
fourth quarter, Eagan was able to score one touchdown but
the game ended Apple Valley 21 – Eagan 7. Now the Eagles
will host Prior Lake on Tuesday night, October 21, in the
first round of the sectional play-offs.
Tuesday January 21
Our
Eagles hosted the Prior Lake Lakers in the first round of
the Minnesota Section 3 football play-offs on Tuesday night,
October 21st. With the opening kick-off the Eagles marched
all the way down the field, manufacturing a nearly perfect
drive, which culminated when Boomer Hermes found Jordan
Mackins in the endzone with an 18 yard pass. On the Lakers
first possession they also drove the ball down the field but
with our defense stiffening, Prior Lake gave up the ball on
downs. Throughout the rest of the first half, both team
traded possessions and it looked like we were going to go
into half-time 7 to zero. However, Prior Lake had to punt
one more time and Varmah Sonie returned it all the way for a
touchdown on an 85 yard punt return. Half-time saw the
Eagles ahead by 14 points.
The
second half literally erupted with the Eagles coming through
with 2 more touchdowns. First, Apple Valley scored on a 1
yard run by Matt Gurtcheff and then Varmah Sonie ran back a
45 yard pass interception. With a 28 point lead it was a
great opportunity for Apple Valley to start substituting
players. This gave many an opportunity to play during this
first game of the post season.
Prior
Lake was able to score twice and racked up 13 total points
but the Eagles were not done yet. In the fourth quarter Matt
Gurtcheff was able to score a fifth touchdown on a 3 yard
pass from Boomer Hermes.
Make
sure to come out and watch our Eagles as they play in the
Sectional semi-finals, Saturday night at 7:00PM. The game
will be at Eastview with an AVQBC tailgating event before
hand starting at 5:30PM. Look for the Apple Valley gold
tent by the community center.
Saturday October 25, Section Semifinals
Few
words can describe the ending to Apple Valley’s season. It
came at the hands of the Eastview Lightning on Saturday
night. The Apple Valley Eagles played visitors to
cross-town rival, Eastview, at the Sectional 3 Semi-Final
game. It was one of those games where Apple Valley could
not get on track and Eastview dominated in all aspects.
There was hope going into the third quarter as the Lightning
were winning only by two touchdowns at half. However, bad
went to worse as Eastview continued to put points on the
board and the game ended 35 to 0.
To the
seniors this will be the last football game suited up as an
Apple Valley Eagle and for many the last football game
ever. The underclassman will start building for next year
and creating memories of another season in the valley. As
with life, it is not always about winning but carrying your
head high as you know you gave all you had on the field, at
practice and in the weight room. That is what “Friday Night
Lights” is all about. Now these young men will take these
important life lessons and truly become stronger men because
of them.
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