Wolverines roll past Valliant for district title, perfect regular season

Not even torrential rain was going to stop Vian from doing something the Wolverines hadn’t done in more than a decade.

Masyn Wright scored three total touchdowns, and the defense had a hat trick of its own by registering three safeties as Vian built a 32-0 first-quarter lead and rolled past the Valliant Bulldogs 48-7 to win the District 2AII-4 title on a rainy Friday night at St. John Stadium.

It finished off a perfect 10-0 regular season for Vian (10-0 overall, 7-0 in district play), the first unblemished regular season by the Wolverines since 2013.

“(I’m) proud of our guys,” Vian coach Gary Willis said. “They came out fired up from the get-go, and Valliant was fired up. I thought we really played with a lot of intensity and kept our cool pretty well early in a tough, physical game like that. (I’m) just happy to get out of this night with a win in the weather the way it was.”

Friday’s win also meant a lot to Willis because he had never achieved an undefeated regular season in his coaching career, which included a stint at Keys.

“I’ve never been 10-0,” he said. “I’ve been 9-1 a couple of times, and it’s a good feeling there and just proud of these boys and the community that raised these boys to be competitive. I haven’t been 10-0, and it’s been a while since Vian has. So, we’re excited, and it’s a good step to where we want to go.”

Vian’s defense was strong from the outset, keeping Valliant (5-5, 5-2) bottled up in its own territory on the Bulldogs’ opening two drives. That led to two Valliant punts, with Vian getting excellent field position on each occasion, setting up the Wolverines’ first two scores.

The initial scoring drive began on the Valliant 34yard line. On the first play, Wright darted 22 yards to the Valliant 12. Moments later, on a first-and-goal from the Valliant 2, Wright went up the middle for his first touchdown.

Mikayah Mendoza tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 Vian lead just 2:44 into the ball game.

Then Vian took over at Valliant’s 26-yard line following a short punt. The Wolverines took full advantage of the tremendous field position, leading to a 17-yard TD as Draighton Fletcher took a sweep around the right side. Mendoza’s second PAT made it 14-0 with 6:24 left in the opening quarter.

Nearly a couple minutes later, Vian got its first safety when a bad snap eventually rolled out of the end zone to make it 16-0.

It didn’t take long for the Wolverines to continue to add to its lead.

On the ensuing free kick, Wright fielded the ball at his own 41-yard line and immediately took off, finding a seam up the middle and outracing the Bulldogs for a 59-yard kick return. Another Mendoza PAT made it 23-0 with 4:24 left in the first quarter.

Vian got another TD drive off a short field when linebacker Trace Sanders recovered a fumble at the Valliant 9 yard line. Although a penalty backed things up, the Wolverines were not to be denied, as Wright got his hat trick, going in from 20 yards out.

With Mendoza making yet another PAT, it was already 30-0 less than 10 minutes into the contest, but Vian wasn’t done scoring before the first quarter ended.

From the Valliant 17 yard line, Valliant’s quarterback fielded another bad snap and was immediately swarmed by Vian senior defensive end Cash Collins — with linebacker Riley Ellis providing assistance — for the Wolverines’ second safety on the night to up the Vian advantage to 32-0.

“We came out ready to go,” said Collins, who also plays right tackle on offense. “We knew we could stop them. We just had to do it.

“We’ve been studying them on film and stuff, and we knew we had a shot on defense. We just had to fill our roles and get stuff done.”

Vian then got its third safety with 10:25 left in the second quarter on yet another bad snap from Valliant, which went out of the end zone, making it 34-0.

On the next possession, Vian struck again, as Fletcher took a reverse and found room down the left sideline, finishing off a 72-yard TD run. Mendoza’s PAT upped the advantage to 41-0 with 8:35 left in the half.

“We put that in this week, and I was kind of skeptical about it at first,” Fletcher said. “I had seen that hole, and I accelerated — and there it was. I had a pretty good night, but I just couldn’t do it without the linemen. They played a heck of a game this week and couldn’t be better.”

Then, Vian cashed in on another turnover with senior Tristan Wiley recovering a fumble in Valliant territory. It led to running back Tyson Murphy shaking off several tacklers and dashing into the end zone from 24 yards out.

Mendoza’s extra point made it 48-0 with 6:07 left in the first half. At that point, the clock ran continuously. The clock also constantly ran in the second half, though the third and fourth quarters were reduced to eight minutes each.

Valliant got its only touchdown with nearly three minutes left in the third, taking advantage of a Vian fumble.

Following the game, Willis also complimented his team on being able to stay level-headed and not getting caught up in the emotions of playing for a district title and a perfect regular season.

“They really came together and kept their head,” Willis said. “It was chippy early, and we have a tendency to act like teenage boys sometimes. I was real proud of them for overall keeping their composure and keeping the intensity without losing it. You’ve got to push that line with emotion, but you can’t cross it. I was real proud of them for staying composed.”

Now the second season starts for the Wolverines, who are hoping to snap another streak. That’s attempting to win their first state title since 1971.

That proverbial second season starts at 7 p.m. this Friday as Vian is back at home to open the 2A-II playoffs against the Kansas Comets.

“Being 10-0 for the first time since 2013, that’s something,” Fletcher said. “We’ve got a special group, and we’re ready to see how we can continue that into the playoffs.”