by Paul Heidelberg
After Smithson Valley’s last-second 30-27 victory over Madison Thursday night, Coach Larry Hill knows his team is on a roll.
The Rangers improved to 3-0 in District 26 5-A and 5-0 overall and were ranked 20th in the nation by USA TODAY newspaper before beating Madison. “We’ve had a good run for ten or twelve years,” Hill said. “So this team is trying to live up to that, and we’ve done some good things already.”
Travis Constanzo iced the Rangers victory with a 22-yard field goal as time ran out in regulation play. “He had a real good game,” Hill said. “Three field goals and three extra points.”
Junior running back Trent Rios continued his strong play this season with three touchdowns rushing and 155 yards rushing on 25 carries. “He has good vision and good speed,” Hill said. “And our line did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage to open holes for him.”
Smithson Valley is gearing up for Friday’s home game against Wagner (1-2 and 0-2 in district 26 5-A). Lee defeated Wagner 35-28 Friday night in a district contest.
The school is named after Lt. Col. Karen Wagner, a 1979 Judson graduate who was a U.S. Army Medical Service Corps Officer. Wagner was serving as a personnel officer in the Office of the Army Surgeon General at the Pentagon, and was killed during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
|