Carter lifts Great Valley

MALVERN » The Great Valley football team came into Friday night’s Ches-Mont League American Division matchup against Oxford with one thing on its mind, play for the seniors.

In order to get a win on senior night and in front of their home crowd, the Patriots had to overcome a plethora of injuries. In the end, the recipe for success was simple, get the ball to Damien Carter any way possible.

Behind Carter’s playmaking ability, the Patriots defeated the Hornets 36-28 and improved their record to 3-0 in the American and 4-3 overall.

“Our guys are really playing well,” said Great Valley coach Dan Ellis. “I’m really proud of these

guys because we have so many injuries and so many kids out. This is our seventh game and we’re already on our sixth offensive line combination and we’re still playing really well. That tells you a lot about our offensive line and about the guys who are carrying the ball. It really shows maturity on our kids part.”

Oxford scored on its first drive to put Great Valley quickly into the hole. However, a big kick return from Owen Banavitch would set the Patriots up at the 48yard line. Carter quickly got involved in the offense and continuously gushed out first downs left and right. An 18-yard hookup from Jake Prevost to Carter would tie the score at 6-6 and give the Patriots all the confidence they needed.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ellis made an interesting call to go for an on-sides kick so early in the game.

The gamble paid off. The Patriots recovered the ball on the 45. A couple plays later, Banavitch walked into the end zone on a 43-yard catch-and-run to give the lead for Great Valley.

“That play was just a screen play,” said Banavitch. “It was simple. I just run three yards, go back and get the ball. There was a huge hole open for me. I was so happy when I seen the hole. I just seen the endzone and was like let’s go. I was so excited.”

The Hornets began to turn things around during the next few series. A 42-yad run from Brandon Holz would set themup at the 10-yard line and allow Chandler England to run it in and tie the score up. Defensively, the hornets forced Great Valley to punt on the next drive.

A short punt gave the Hornets the ball on Great Valley’s 40. On the next play, England threw a 40yard bomb to Brandon Deshields for the score.

As Oxford seemed to be

taking momentum, right on cue Carter came to the rescue. On a fourth-and-10, Carter ran a fake punt and picked up a first down. The conversion would lead to Warrick Parvess field goal, but gave the momentum back to Great Valley.

After the kickoff, the Patriots were able to hold the Hornets and then turn around and run in another touchdown.

Both teams walked into halftime tied up at 22, but the momentum Great Valley carried turn out to be the difference.

“It just been one of those years where things haven’t really gone our way in the health department,” said Ellis. “We still battled and we still fight. Oxford made some good plays, but we kept playing and kept battling back. I was really proud of them.”

The second half proved to be all Great Valley. Midway through the third quarter, Carter stumbled to a 55yard touchdown to regain the lead. Once the Patriots took the lead, they would

not let it go again.

Oxford stayed in the game as far as they could, but as time ran out, so did the Hornets chances of continuing their winning streak.

“My line just did the job,” said Carter. “They’re the best in Ches-Mont. Without them I’m nothing. I really just wanted to get this win for my pals. I’ve known them all my life.”

“All around we need to get better at special teams,” Carter continued. “We’re going to step it up next weekend.”

“For us we were going into a situation where we had two linemen out last week and another lineman out this week,” said Ellis. “The preparation going into this week was really a challenge in getting the kids to feel comfortable in new positions and doing new things. Defensively, we gave up 28 points, but that team is really explosive. I told Jeff, that that was the best 28 point defensive game I’ve ever seen with the talent that they have.”