Seton LaSalle rallies to take down Valley in Allegheny Conference

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 9, 2017 | 12:06 AM

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Things started well enough for Valley in its Allegheny Conference game Friday against Seton LaSalle at Memorial Stadium.

The Vikings scored on the first play of the game and held a two-score lead in the second quarter. The hosts had the No. 3 team in the Tribune-Review Class 3A rankings on the ropes.

But the Rebels rallied.

Seton LaSalle scored right before halftime, raced past Valley in the third quarter and finished off a 37-14 victory to improve to 2-0, both overall and in conference play.

“We have to do a better job at handling things when they go wrong,” Valley coach Muzzy Colosimo said. “Seton LaSalle is a good team. Once things started to go in their favor, it snowballed on us. We have to learn how to handle adversity, and it's something we can work on. I was happy with the way we played in the first half.”

Trailing 14-0 and searching for a spark, Seton LaSalle got on the board with seven seconds left on the second-quarter clock. Matt Banbury connected with Max Shipani from 5 yards out, capping a 10-play, 70-yard drive in 4 minutes, 7 seconds.

Lionel Deanes then popped a 74-yard scoring run on the first play of the second half to bring the Rebels even.

“I told the kids at halftime, we had to stop them the first series (of the second half) to get momentum back,” Colosimo said. “But then, boom. It then was like trying to recoup after getting punched in the face.”

A fumble halted the ensuing Valley drive and set up the go-ahead Seton LaSalle score, a 28-yard pass completion from Banbury to Nick Vari with 9:32 left in the third quarter.

Vikings miscues — a bad snap on a punt attempt deep in their own territory, an interception and a fumble — fueled the Rebels' scoring efforts in the fourth quarter.

Banbury scored on a 3-yard run early in the final stanza, Cullen Vereb booted a 20-yard field goal, and Banbury, who finished with 137 passing yards, tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Vari to finish off the 23-point win.

Vari caught four passes for 69 yards and the two scores.

“We needed that kickstart late in the first half to get our mojo back,” Seton LaSalle coach Rob Carter said. “We told them at halftime to stick to the plan and try to wear (Valley) out. We were still pretty confident. There are some good teams and good coaches in the Allegheny Conference. It makes every game a dogfight. We know every team is going to give us their best, and we need to give it back. This win taught us a little bit about being able to win games when we are behind.”

Deanes finished with 212 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. He had 146 of his 212 yards in the second half and now has 436 yards in two games.

“He is shifty and can change gears so well,” Colosimo said. “He's in the hole, and you look, and his body is going one way, and his legs are going another. When he gets into open space, he turns on the speed. He's a heck of a back.”

Valley quarterback Tyler Green completed 7 of 11 passes for 163 yards in the first half and fell 5 yards shy of 200 for the game.

He found wideout Darius Johnson for a 63-yard touchdown that gave Valley a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game.

Green continued his strong first half with another scoring strike midway through the second quarter when he found Shawn Demharter for a 59-yard TD hookup.

Vikings tailback Deonte Ross was limited to 10 carries for 49 yards.

“We have a young team with talent that is working each week to be more consistent and to get more experience,” Colosimo said.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Valley