Thursday Throwdown: Valley wins district title (Video + Story)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALBUQUERQUE</strong> – Valley running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590712' first='Charles' last='Lopez-Burton']</strong>'s perseverance and determination paid off handsomely for the Vikings Thursday night in their biggest game of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overcoming two early fumbles, Lopez-Burton rushed for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns in Valley's thrilling 26-23 victory over Los Alamos at Milne Stadium that clinched the District 5A-2 title for the Vikings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lopez-Burton's final two yards were the most important as he scored the game-winning touchdown with a short run with 1:30 left. He took advantage of some outstanding blocking by the Valley offensive line by running virtually untouched through the wide open right side for the winning score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley improved to 6-3 overall, 3-0 in the district, with one regular season game left on the schedule -Oct. 27 at 6A independent Rio Grande. The come-from-behind win giving the Vikings the district title will likely give Valley a top eight seed and a first-round home game in the 5A playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Alamos fell to 7-2 overall, 1-1 in the district. The Hilltoppers conclude the regular season next week by hosting 1-8 Del Norte. Ranked No. 5 in the latest MaxPreps 5A poll, Los Alamos should also secure a favorable seed for the 5A playoffs. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Alamos scored first with a safety late in the first quarter. Valley responded with a 54-yard TD run by <strong>Daniel Garcia</strong> on a jet sweep on the first snap of the second quarter. Garcia showed great speed racing through the Los Alamos secondary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lopez-Burton's first TD of the game on a 15-yard run gave Valley a 13-2 lead midway through the second quarter. Los Alamos scored on a 25-yard TD pass from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119597' first='Kyle' last='Evenhus']</strong> to WR <strong>Seth Cowan</strong> in the final minute of the second quarter to cut Valley's lead to 13-9 at halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Almos quickly grabbed the lead at the outset of the third quarter on speedster <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590222' first='Melaki' last='Gutierrez']</strong>'s 63-yard TD run. Gutierrez sat out the first half after being penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties last week against Manzano.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley regained the lead at 19-16 by driving down the field for a fourth-down power un by Lopez-Burton with 7:40 left in the third quarter. Los Alamos grabbed the lead back at 23-19 on a 27-yard TD pass from Evenhus to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590718' first='Haiden' last='Jorgenson']</strong> with 4:14 left in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Neither team scored again until Lopez-Burton's game-winning run with 90 seconds remaining capped an 89-yard drive by Valley. It came moments after his 31-yard scamper put the Vikings on the doorstep to the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Alamos fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Valley recovered. The Viking drained the rest of the clock by picking up a first down and forcing the Hilltoppers to exhaust their two remaining timeouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the scoreboard clock hit zeroes, the celebration was on for Valley. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: Los Alamos at Valley (Part 1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/1wf3eFEvMu8?si=Iq8-CRQOem5ZZKnC","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/1wf3eFEvMu8?si=Iq8-CRQOem5ZZKnC </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Los Alamos at Valley (Part 2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/Ls0JQWwsSO4?si=_u2MoVgdlmayw8A4","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/Ls0JQWwsSO4?si=_u2MoVgdlmayw8A4 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Los Alamos at Valley (Part 3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/OBh0PmCZzeA?si=juFInB6s4l32s34X","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/OBh0PmCZzeA?si=juFInB6s4l32s34X </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO: Los Alamos at Valley (Part 4)(Game-winning TD</strong>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/CO_3AVx86mo?si=SLeRvuFYwStOcE8a","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/CO_3AVx86mo?si=SLeRvuFYwStOcE8a </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->