HUNTINGTON — Anthony Evans returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the game to seal a 27-14 victory for Spring Valley over Woodrow Wilson in the rain Friday night.

The Flying Eagles, needing a win to make the Class AAA playoffs, drove from their own 18 to the 15 of the Timberwolves in the final 1:10 on the right arm of senior quarterback Ryan Stafford. He completed six passes to get Woodrow Wilson in position for the possible tying score. On third-and-10, the Timberwolves got pressure on Stafford, who tried to hit VaShawn Wood while going down, but Evans stepped in front of the receiver, caught the ball and sprinted the distance to complete a 7-3 season for the playoff-bound Timberwolves on Senior Night.

It was the second straight year Spring Valley beat Woodrow Wilson in the finale to keep the Flying Eagles from the postseason.

“The ball was right to me. I was sitting behind the receiver and jumped the route,” Evans said after the happy Timberwolves broke from a midfield postgame chat from first-year coach Brad Dingess. “I was trying to run fast and get to the end zone.”

“He always seems to make big plays,” Dingess said of Evans, who had a 79-yard kickoff return for a TD last week against No. 1 South Charleston. “He’s got speed.”

Woodrow Wilson finished 5-5.

“We laid it on the line,” Flying Eagles coach John H. Lilly said. “The kids did everything we asked. We battled to the last seconds. We wanted to get the ball off and get one more shot. The ball just went to the wrong place.”

The SSAC will announce the playoff fields for Class AAA, Class AA and Class A schools Sunday.

Woodrow Wilson got off to a rousing start, scoring on its first two possessions and limiting the Timberwolves to three plays in the first period.

Stafford threw TD passes of 26 and 16 yards to Wood to build the lead to 14-0 only to see Spring Valley charge back behind quarterback Kevin Lawrence in one of the heavy downpours that struck throughout the evening.

Lawrence hit Joey McComas for 25 yards on the first play and the Timberwolves ended up covering 79 yards with Zack Wellman getting the TD on a 2-yard run. Just before the half, Spring Valley got the ball at its 43 after picking off a Stafford pass. Lawrence ran for 37 yards on first down and capped the scoring drive on a 1-yard run with 15.5 seconds to tie the game at 14-14.

“The monsoon didn’t help,” Lilly said. “It took us out of our game and put the favor on their side. You can’t turn the ball over in big games and win.”

A good punt by Spring Valley’s George Brody helped set up the home team’s go-ahead score. His 37-yard kick went out at the 1, putting Woodrow Wilson in the hole with 6:57 left. It was three and out and a short punt gave the Timberwolves the ball at the visitor’s 28. Lawrence hooked up with McComas for a 23-yard gain on a bubble screen for a key first down at the Woodrow Wilson 6. Wellman went over from 2 yards out on third down to put the Timberwolves ahead to stay.

“The defense picked it up at the end,” Lawrence said. “I was getting a little nervous at the end. We started slow, but picked things up. This is a great feeling. I’ve never been to the playoffs.”

Spring Valley had won just seven games over the past three seasons.

Dingess also had some uneasy moments in the closing seconds. A year ago, Brody kicked a late field goal to give the Timberwolves the win.

“I’m thinking, here we go again,” Dingess said. “We didn’t want to give up the big play. It was the bend-don’t-break philosophy. We stepped up at the end.”

Dingess said much of the credit goes to defensive coordinator Frank Arthur, who made the necessary adjustments to slow down the speedy Flying Eagles.

“He got the kids in the right places,” Dingess said. “We have to figure out how to start better. We’ve come out flat the last two weeks. In the playoffs, you’re up against good teams and you can’t afford to get down. We hit some adversity, but it didn’t dictate how we play. We didn’t panic.”



Spring Valley 27, Woodrow Wilson 14

WW (5-5) 7 7 0 0 — 14

SV (7-3) 0 14 7 6 — 27

First Quarter

WW: Wood 26 pass from Stafford (Cook kick)

Second Quarter

WW: Wood 16 pass from Stafford (Cook kick)

SV: Z. Wellman 2 run (Brody kick)

SV: Lawrence 1 run (Brody kick)

Third Quarter

SV: Z. Wellman 2 run (Brody kick)

Fourth Quarter

SV: Evans 85 interception return (no extra point)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — WW: Stafford 14-36, Wood 9-22, Williams 1-12, Hughes 1-5, Fowkles 3-6. SV: Harrison 4-13, Stewart 11-24, Kipp 8-19, Lawrence 8-97, Z. Wellman 4-7.

PASSING — WW: Stafford 21-33-2, 254 yards. SV: Lawrence 4-10-0, 79 yards.

RECEIVING — WW: Wood 5-70, Allen 10-116, Hughes 1-5, Bowyer 3-52, Williams 2-11. SV: McComas 2-48, Z. Harrison 1-20, May 1-11.￿