Vikings fall in heartbreaker to South Gallia, still finish in top 4
- Staff
- Oct 27
- 4 min read
CROWN CITY — Layne Wright's 2-point conversion run capped off a last-minute drive for South Gallia, as the Symmes Valley Vikings fell to the Rebels 38-36 in the regular season finale on Friday night.
Symmes Valley finishes the season 8-2 overall. South Gallia finishes with a record of 7-3. The win by the Rebels also created a 3-way tie for second place in the Southern Ohio Conference-1 standings between Symmes Valley, South Gallia and Notre Dame with identical records of 3-2.
Despite the loss, the Vikings finished No. 4 in Region 23 and will be getting a bye next week in the OHSAA playoffs. The Vikings will be at home on Nov. 14 against the winner of the Trimble-South Gallia game.
The Rebels got a 21-yard touchdown pass by Hunter Wright, who tossed up a jump ball into the end zone, and the tipped ball fell right into the waiting hands of Tristian Swindler to tie the score at 30-all.
The Rebels went for two to tie, but Layne Wright's run attempt was snuffed out by Beckem Roth who made the initial hit and Andy Strow secured the tackle.
Symmes Valley marched 80 yards in 14 plays to regain the lead. The drive included a gutsy fake punt on fourth down, where Bronx Carpenter threaded the needle with a 24-yard pass to Jackson Fields for a first down.
On the final play of the drive, Carpenter found Gradee Holland while scrambling for an 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings back ahead 36-30 with 3:22 remaining.
The Rebels got the ball back at their own 46 and moved down into the Symmes Valley red zone behind some runs from Layne Wright and a 15-yard pitch-and-catch by Layne Wright to JJ Snyder in front of the Rebel sideline.
Hunter Wright took the ball on a quarterback sweep and scored from 9 yards out to tie the game with 1:05 remaining.
South Gallia lined up for the two-point conversion with Hunter Wright lined up behind center in the wildcat. Wright took the snap and followed his blockers straight up the middle for the score and South Gallia's first lead of the game since midway through the first quarter.
The Vikings got the ball back and tried to mount one final drive. But the late game magic never came to be, as an incompletion on first down and an interception by Dustin Mooney on a halfback pass sealed the win for the Rebels.
The loss overshadowed several key performances by Symmes Valley players.
Carpenter completed 22 of 39 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns through the air. His top target of the night was Holland who finished with 6 catches for 76 yards and two touchdown receptions — all game highs. The first touchdown between the pair came on the Vikings' opening drive during a busted play, as Carpenter scrambled and found Holland, who had slipped behind the defense and was wide open along the goal line for a 26 yard score.
On the ground, Asher Maynard went over the century mark with 118 yards on 21 carries and a rushing score. Maynard also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Carpenter late in the first half.
The Rebels were led offensively by running back Layne Wright, who finished with 26 carries for 209 yards and two touchdown runs. Quarterback Layne Wright also chipped in with 60 rushing yards and threw for 59 yards to go along with his two scores.
Sy. Valley 7 16 7 6 = 36
South Gallia 8 8 8 14 = 38
First Quarter
SV — Gradee Holland 26 pass from Bronx Carpenter (Miguel Ferreira kick), 6:40.
SG — Layne Wright 26 run (Hunter Wright run), 6:03.
Second Quarter
SV — Asher Maynard 11 pass from Bronx Carpenter (Maynard pass to Andy Strow), 4:33.
SG — Layne Wright 14 run (Hunter Wright run), 3:01.
SV — Asher Maynard 2 run (Bronx Carpenter pass to Levi Russell), 0:34.
Third Quarter
SV — Levi Russell 18 pass from Bronx Carpenter (Miguel Ferreira kick), 7:23.
SG — Layne Wright 87 kickoff return (run failed), 7:08.
SG — Safety (intentional grounding in end zone), 3:06.
Fourth Quarter
SG — Tristian Swindler 21 pass from Hunter Wright (run failed), 9:03.
SV — Gradee Holland 8 pass from Bronx Carpenter (pass failed), 3:22.
SG — Hunter Wright 9 run (Layne Wright run), 1:05
———
SV SG
First downs 25 16
Rushes-yards 23-137 42-273
Passing yards 287 59
Total yards 424 332
Cmp-Att-Int 22-39-1 3-5-1
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-17 4-40
Punts-average 0-0.0 1-19.0
———
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – Symmes Valley: Beckem Roth 1-minus 1, Bronx Carpenter 6-23, Jackson Fields 1-minus 1, Asher Maynard 21-118 TD; South Gallia: Hunter Wright 10-60 TD, Layne Wright 26-209 2-TD, JJ Snyder 1-minus 5, Konnar Winters 4-10, Team 1-minus 2.
PASSING – Symmes Valley: Bronx Carpenter 22-39-1 287 4-TD, Asher Maynard 0-1-1 0; South Gallia: Hunter Wright 3-5-1 59.
RECEIVING – Symmes Valley: Andy Strow 4-28, Levi Russell 3-56 TD, Gradee Holland 6-76 2-TD, Beckem Roth 5-71, Jackson Fields 2-37, Asher Maynard 1-11 TD; South Gallia: Caleb Frazee 1-23, Tristian Swindler 1-21 TD, JJ Snyder 1-15.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.