Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley football team hosted Paoli on Friday, falling 41-26. The Blackhawks hung tight for most of the game as the score was tied 0-0 after one quarter and 14-14 at halftime, but Paoli managed to take a 28-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Rams would outscore the Blackhawks 13-6 over the final five minutes of the game to take the win. "I am very proud of the effort that our kids put forth in the Orange Bowl. We knew this would be a tough game against a tough opponent," Springs Valley coach Jason Lowe said. "There's always things to work on but I cannot fault our kids effort at all." Christian Hamilton was excellent for the Blackhawks, carrying much of the load offensively. He ran for more than 200 yards and racked up three touchdowns. The Blackhawks also got a touchdown from James Walls, who caught a back-corner fade from quarterback Blake Buchanan in the third quarter. "Christian Hamilton had another huge game for us on the ground. He may be one of the most explosive players we've seen at Springs Valley in some time, and that is saying something," Lowe said. "If our offensive line can just give him a seam he can take care of the rest." Kayce Jones, Parker Chaplin, Ethan Parker, and Augie Purkhiser led the way for Springs Valley defensively. That quartet piled on the tackles against Paoli's run-heavy offense, making play after play to keep the Blackhawks in the game. Late in the game it was Purkhiser and Chaplin who combined to make a fourth-down stop and get Springs Valley the ball back with a chance to tie the game. "Ethan Parker and Parker Chaplin did such a great job on our defensive line. Proud of them both and hope this is just the first of many great games for them," Lowe said. "Augie Purkhiser is another guy that literally left it all out on the field Friday night. If there was ever a 'throwback' player, it's Augie." Springs Valley (2-1, 1-1 PLAC) will try to rebound from the loss this week when it hosts conference foe West Washington. The Blackhawks have won two of their last three against the Senators and last year their 46-7 victory launched an eight-game winning streak that took them all the way to the sectional championship game.