What We Saw: Catawba Ridge 24, Spring Valley 3

COLUMBIA | Casey Fikis was just waiting for his moment. The senior safety had watched most of the night as Spring Valley pounded running play after running play at the Catawba Ridge defense.   Trailing by two scores late in the contest, Fikis knew the Vikings had to go to the air. In the span of the final four minutes, Fikis picked off three passes, including a pick-6 with 1:37 remaining that sealed the Copperheads 24-3 victory Thursday night.   “I honestly give all the credit to our scout offense during the week and how hard we practiced as a defense,” Fikis said. “We put the work in as a defense this week. We waited for our time to come. We stopped the run; we were physical and did everything we did in practice. Then when the opportunity came, the ball came right to me.”   Fikis did this with highly touted defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1422524' first='Josh' last='Dobson'], the No. 8 ranked player in our 2027 Class rankings, out with a sprained shoulder. Dobson is expected to be cleared next week and be available for the start of region play.   It wasn't just Fikis who made plays for Catawba Ridge (3-1). [player_tooltip player_id='1821563' first='Damien' last='Ashcraft'] partially blocked a punt to set up the Copperheads first touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id='1819410' first='Shane' last='Corley'] recovered a fumble to halt another drive.   Spring Valley attempted one pass in the first half and only eight for the game – remember Fikis caught three of them – so Catawba Ridge loaded up the box and dared the Vikings to go to the passing game.   That allowed the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='1603727' first='Alex' last='Johnson'] [player_tooltip player_id='1821547' first='Judah' last='Ponce'] [player_tooltip player_id='1592496' first='Nolan' last='Jones'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1270438' first='Connor' last='McFadden'] to have a field day at the line of scrimmage.   “Defensively, I was very pleased,” Catawba Ridge coach Zac Lendyak said. “We have to tackle better because we've seen teams' line up in heavy sets and run right at us. That's something we need to address.”   [player_tooltip player_id='1824256' first='Curtis' last='Dayson'] had things rolling for the Catawba Ridge offense. Three plays after Ashcraft blocked the punt, the junior took a handoff right up the gut for a 35-yard TD run and a 7-0 lead.     Declan Hogan added to the lead on the next possession with a 32-yard field. But the Spring Valley defense would tighten after that. Led by [player_tooltip player_id='477819' first='Dylan' last='Redden'] [player_tooltip player_id='1817131' first='Joshua' last='Mickey'] and Demarion Kalub-Green, the Vikings didn't allow another point in the first half and trailed 10-3 after a 35-yard [player_tooltip player_id='1820864' first='Grady' last='Tucker'] field goal.   It was a stalemate in the third quarter. Catawba Ridge got the ball to begin the fourth quarter and marched 45 yards in 10 plays when Dyson scored from two yards out on fourth down.   Dyson finished with 88 yards on 12 attempts.   “As we progressed in the game, our tempo really got things going for us,” Dyon said. “Ultimately, there's some things we need to work on to get us boosted going into the rest of the season.”   That's the stage that Fikis took over. His pick-six came with 1:37 remaining on a pass out in the flat. He caught it at the 15 and went untouched into the end zone.   OTHER CATAWBA RIDGE STANDOUTS   Hogan not only connected on the 32-yard field goal but he added a 67-yard punt in the third quarter that flipped the field and pinned the Vikings at their own 4-yard line.   [player_tooltip player_id='1824261' first='Bradey' last='Compton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1824265' first='Will' last='Griggs'] split time at quarterback like they've done all season. Compton started the game and played most of the first half. He finished 7-of-13 for 64 yards and two interceptions. Griggs played the entire second half and completed 5-of-12 for 37 yards and added 24 yards rushing. Lendyak would like to see one of them take control but doesn't have an issue with playing both.   OTHER SPRING VALLEY STANDOUTS   The Vikings picked off two passes in the first half. The first one was by [player_tooltip player_id='1822025' first='Zachary' last='Williams'] that halted a Copperheads drive at the SV 25-yard line. Antoine Williams intercepted the other pass just before the half to stall another drive out in Vikings territory.   [player_tooltip player_id='1370507' first='Marcel' last='Goodwin'] led the rushing attack with 122 yards on eight carries. He had runs of 52 and 43 yards behind the offensive line that included Shymeik Reid and [player_tooltip player_id='1816413' first='Kaden' last='Brown']. [player_tooltip player_id='1816235' first='Zion' last='Bennett'] added 72 yards on 19 carries.   [player_tooltip player_id='477819' first='Dylan' last='Redden'] [player_tooltip player_id='1817132' first='Braden' last='Lawton'] [player_tooltip player_id='1818455' first='Ahmad' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1818473' first='Darian' last='Thomas'] all took snaps at quarterback. If the Vikings don't find a passing game, they can expect teams to put eight or nine players in the box and play man coverage on the outside.

COLUMBIA | Casey Fikis was just waiting for his moment. The senior safety had watched most of the night as Spring Valley pounded running play after running play at the Catawba Ridge defense.