No. 2-seeded Valley View (11-2), which had won 11 straight since an overtime loss in the opener against Coldwater, was playing in its first regional championship since 2023 – when the Spartans last made it to the state semifinals. A return to the Final Four was not in the cards this time.
The Spartans had struck first on Brody Gibbs’ 51-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Valenti to take a 7-0 lead with 6:36 left in the first quarter, and although the Braves (13-0) quickly responded on Evan Riggs’ 75-yard touchdown run, Valley still maintained a lead thanks to a tipped point-after attempt.
Isaac Johnson rebuilt a cushion when he returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-6 with 4:50 left in the first quarter, and the Spartans seemed to be rolling when Gavin Phillips picked off Braves quarterback Devlan Daniel’s deep ball on the next drive.
That’s when the flip switched. Daniel scored on a 63-yard keeper late in the first quarter to cut the Braves’ deficit back to one, and the Spartans’ offense sputtered, while the defense couldn’t figure out how to stop Riggs.
Riggs gave Indian Hill the lead for good with 5:57 left in the second quarter on a 24-yard touchdown run, the second of his four on the night. Another big run, with a horse collar penalty added on, set up Riggs for a 7-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the second half, and just like that, Valley View was down 34-14 after Gibbs’ threw a pick-6, returned 25 yards by Jaxon Frye.
The Braves’ final score, from Riggs, came with 9:08 remaining.
This story will be updated with quotes and photos from tonight’s game.
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