Springs Valley Community High School

As the Springs Valley football team went into the locker room at halftime of its IHSAA Sectional 48 opener at Providence, it was feeling good. The Blackhawks were tied 0-0 with Providence, which was considered by many to be not only the favorite in the game, but one of the favorites in the entire sectional. They’d even had the chance to score, attempting a pair of field goals in the first half. Sure, the snap and hold weren’t executed correctly on the first one and the second one didn’t go through the uprights, but it was more than what the Pioneers were able to muster in two scoreless quarters. In the long run though, those missed opportunities would come back to haunt Springs Valley. Providence turned the tide in the third quarter, scoring 22 points before ultimately defeating the Blackhawks 29-0. “It really hurt us that we couldn't convert in the red zone,” Springs Valley coach Jason Lowe said. “Those missed opportunities put our kids in a tough spot and a team as good as Providence on its home field is eventually going to capitalize on those.” It didn’t work out exactly as they hoped, but the Blackhawks accomplished exactly what they set out to do in the first half. Lowe challenged his kids to set a tone, to be physical with the Pioneers, and that’s precisely what they did. It’s how they were able to keep the game so close for so long. “(It was) Just our kids’ mindset and physicality. We had a great week of practice and the kids were locked in,” Lowe said. “I had a good feeling as the week went on that we were going to go to Providence and give them all they wanted from an effort standpoint.” With the loss, Springs Valley saw the careers of six seniors — Jack Dalton, Ivan Drake, Jake Hammond, Cam Hughes, Griffin McGee, and Ezra Mills — come to an end. Lowe and his program have plenty of on-field reasons to be proud of that group. For example, Hammond was a three-year starter and a significant part of the uptick that Valley has seen in line play over the past couple of years. Mills took over the lead role in the running game this season and racked up over 1,000 yards. McGee managed to find a niche as a kicker and made it his own, becoming likely the best Springs Valley has ever seen in that area. More than that though, Lowe’s proud of his seniors for the way they conducted themselves on and off the field. “Every coach talks about how proud they are of their seniors and rightfully so, but these seniors were the last group that I coached in junior high before moving back up to the varsity level so we've spent a lot of years together,” Lowe said. “They've always given maximum effort and made the most out of being a class that has small numbers. I love all six of them and am very thankful for what they've done for our program the past two seasons that I've been the head coach.” The loss brought the season to an end for Springs Valley (5-5, 2-3 PLAC) and though the Blackhawks wanted it to go on longer, they managed to keep the program’s momentum moving forward this year. By finishing with five wins, they marked their first back-to-back seasons of five or more victories since 2011 and 2012. The 14 wins they’ve had over the past two seasons are also the most they’ve had in a two-season span since 1998 and 1999. With so much of their starting lineup returning next season and the groundswell of success Springs Valley has seen at the youth and junior-high levels, it appears that the future is bright for the program. “We keep the momentum going with great people. We have incredible kids in our program and coaches at all levels that love our kids and love coaching them," Lowe said. "It's exciting when you look at the season our kids had from the fifth grade all the way up to the JV. As tough as the loss to Providence was, I'm very excited about the season our program had and the momentum everyone involved created.” PIONEERS 29, BLACKHAWKS 0 Springs Valley (5-5);0;0;0;0—0 Providence (7-2);0;0;22;7—29 TEAM STATISTICS ;;Springs Valley;Providence Rushes-yards;46-97;34-297 Passing yards;119;48 Total yards;216;345 Passes;12-23-2;2-4-0 Punts;1-59.0;0-00.0 Fumbles-lost;2-1;1-1 RUSHING Springs Valley: Ezra Mills 23-52, Konner Chase 15-30, Larron Childers 6-16, Mavrick Land 2-(-1). Providence: Thomas Lynch 11-130, Cade Unruh 9-68, Luke Kruer 6-74, Preston Kempf 8-25. PASSING Springs Valley: Land 12-22-2-119, Chase 0-1-0-0. Providence: Kempf 2-4-0-48. RECEIVING Springs Valley: James Walls 4-16, Chase 3-34, Keaton Pritchett 2-17, Jaheim Hamilton 1-36, Ezra Mills 1-10, Xander Cook 1-6. Providence: Kruer 2-48.