THURSDAY GRID: CV Pups storm into 2nd round of playoffs; CV Trojans fall
Both area Caney Valley High football teams — The Trojans (Oklahoma) and the Bullpups (Kansas) — both played on Thursday evening.
Here are summaries of the results.
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REJOICE CHRISTIAN 70, CANEY VALLEY TROJANS 6
Caney Valley’s grueling season absorbed another tough outing as district-leading Rejoice Christian (9-0, 6-0) remained perfect while the Trojans (1-8, 0-6) stayed stuck at one win.
The Trojans have had to deal with preseason tragedy, injuries and a brutal Class 2A district that boasts four teams with five wins.
Caney Valley closes out the season on Nov. 4 by taking on one of the stronger teams in Claremore-Sequoyah.
“We’re going to go out and give it all we’ve got,” Caney Valley head coach Stephen Mitchell said earlier in the week.
Despite their winning woes, the Trojans have featured some noteworthy individual talents this season. Zak Wallis came into the season as a four-year starting varsity quarterback and also a valuable defensive component.
Jaydin Allen racked up 22 tackles against Vinita and is close to 100 for the season.
Clane Norman has been standout at defensive end; Center Blake McClagan has not made a bad snap for a long time, Mitchell said.
Kenji Young and Dalton Conner are two other senior presences.
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CANEY VALLEY (Kan.) PUPS 44, Eureka (Kan.) 16
For the first time in five years the Caney Valley (Kan.) High Bullpups are pouncing into the second round of the playoffs.
That’s because the Pups turned the vacuum on the Eureka (Kan.) Tornadoes on Thursday and suctioned them off the field in a 44-16 blow-out in the first round (bi-districts) of the Kansas AAA playoffs.
Next up, Caney Valley will play host next Friday in the regionals.
“It feels good to get that first one,” Caney Valley head coach Criss Davis said about the playoff victory — his team’s first successful foray into the second round since 2017.
Caney Valley burst to more than 350 yards — including a 256-yard explosion by Astin King and a complementary 105 yards by Jackson Griffin.
“Anytime you have two backs over 100 yards, you give yourself a good chance,” Davis said. “You’ve got to take your hats off to both those guys.”
On the other side of the equation, the Caney Valley defense allowed only 34 yards rushing.
King rumbled for three touchdowns and Griffin also tallied three, one of them on a pass from Garrett Watson.
Caney Valley — which improved to 7-2 — bolted to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter-and-a-half and never looked back.
Caney Valley 44, Eureka 16
Eureka 0-8-8-0—16
Caney Valley 16-16-6-6—44
First quarter
CV — Astin King 2 run (King run), 9:59
CV — King 45 run (Jackson Griffin run), 7:45
Second quarter
CV — Griffin 20 run (Gavin Stimpson pass from Garrett Watson), 9:29
Eu — Laken Valentine 13 pass from Carson Spoonts (Howard pass from Spoonts), 2:57
CV — Griffin 11 pas from Watson (Griffin run), 0:12
Third quarter
Eu — Cooper Zimmers 37 fumble return (Spoonts run), 2:46
CV — King 8 run (run fail), 0:03
Fourth quarter
CV — Griffin 4 run (run fail), 6:56
CV—Eureka
First downs 18—4
Rushing 50-364—19-34
Passing 2-4-1-30—9-28-1-89
Punts 1-34—5-100
Fumble 1-1—0-0
Penalties 12-120—3-35
Caney Valley stats
Rushing: King 26-256, Griffin 16-105, Seth Hedges 1-11.
Passing: Watson 2-3-1-30, Matthews 0-1-0-0
Receiving: Stimpson 1-19, Griffin 1-11
Sacks: Drake Stapleton, Wes Matthews
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Caney Valley Bullpups win playoff game; CV Trojans fall
