District 11 Class A Championship Preview: Williams Valley looks to continue dynasty
· Yahoo Sports
The Williams Valley Vikings have dominated District 11 Class A and Class AA for much of the past decade and a half. In the last 14 seasons, the Vikings have claimed nine district championships, including winning each of the last three at the Class AA level.
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They’ve also won eight in the last 10 years, including a 2020 district championship that they shared with Tri-Valley.
In fact, across District 11, nobody has won more football championships during that span than, with Williams Valley edging out Class 6A power Parkland, which has claimed eight since 2012 — four at the Class 4A level and four in Class 6A.
Now, on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Blue Mountain High School, the Vikings will go for their 10th district championship in 15 years as they take on rival Tri-Valley in the District 11 Class A championship.
It will be a rematch of a game played just two weeks ago in Williamstown, with the Vikings defeating the Bulldogs 28–21 to finish off their regular season on an eight-game winning streak.
Last time they met
In that Week 10 matchup, the Vikings were led to victory by a big day on the ground from sophomore tailback Cole Hubler, who had 12 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Starting running back Fletcher Thompson also had a strong day with 18 carries for 109 yards and a score. Quarterback Cayden Witmer completed 3-of-7 passing attempts for 59 yards and a score, including senior Colin Crisswell bringing in one reception for a 43-yard touchdown.
For Tri-Valley, quarterback Trey Porter had a big day against the Vikings in the losing effort. He completed 11-of-19 passing attempts for 141 yards and two touchdowns, including Doyle Flory coming up with eight receptions for 79 yards and two scores. With their top two tailbacks out, the Bulldogs also turned to Robert Schwartz to lead the rushing attack; he finished with 18 carries for 65 yards.
The win for the Vikings marked their sixth straight over their rival, dating back to the 2021 District 11 championship game. In those six games, the Vikings have outscored the Bulldogs 182–76, though notably, each of the last two matchups has been decided by just a touchdown. Williams Valley beat Tri-Valley in Hegins 14–7 in 2025 to go along with their Week 10 victory last month.
Matchup to watch
The biggest matchup to watch on Friday night is the emergence of Tri-Valley’s passing attack going up against a Williams Valley defense that has struggled at times to stop the pass this season.
Porter, after averaging just 66.6 passing yards per game over Tri-Valley’s first five games of the season, has been excellent over the last six weeks, averaging 142.2 passing yards per game—including throwing for a season-high 215 yards last week against Marian Catholic in a 37-7 win in the first round of the district playoffs. Porter, in his last six games, has completed 46-of-86 passing attempts for 853 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt.
Similarly, in Williams Valley’s last six games, the pass defense has been faulty at times. While they’ve only allowed a 50.4% completion percentage over that window, allowing 61-of-121 passes to be completed, opposing quarterbacks have thrown for 1,186 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Vikings, however, have picked off 11 passes as well. That being said, the near 200 passing yards and two passing touchdowns allowed per game by the Vikings’ pass defense is worth monitoring coming into Friday night’s game with the Bulldogs’ passing attack continuing to improve.
On the flip side, Tri-Valley’s linebacking corps — led by Schwartz, Landon Horoschak, and Ty Troutman — will have its hands full trying to slow down a Williams Valley ground game that has totaled out nearly 3,000 rushing yards this season, is averaging 268.9 yards per game and and racked up 302 yards against the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
The bottom line
Beating a rival once is hard; beating that same rival twice in three weeks is even harder. If the last two matchups between the Vikings and Bulldogs are any clue, Friday night’s game should be another classic between these two programs. Explosive plays and ball security could ultimately decide this one.
Can Trey Porter and Tri-Valley’s surging passing attack continue to click against a Williams Valley defense that has had some struggles but also has been opportunistic with 11 interceptions in their last six games? Can the Bulldogs slow down a Williams Valley rushing attack that nobody has answers for this season, and can they steal a possession with a fumble or an interception? Answers to both of those questions will go a long way in determining who comes out on top on Friday.
Tri-Valley Players to watch
QB Trey Porter: As mentioned above, the senior dual-threat quarterback might be playing the best football of his career over the last few weeks, completing 63-of-122 passing attempts this season for 1,186 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also has 72 carries for 317 yards and six scores on the ground. On defense, Porter leads the Bulldogs with four interceptions.
RB Landon Horoschak: Horoschak has become Tri-Valley’s top ball carrier with Parker Hatter missing time. This season, the sophomore tailback has totaled 67 carries for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Last week, he had a quiet game against Marian Catholic with six carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. Against Nativity on Oct. 23, however, he rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries, marking one of two 100-plus-yard performances this season. He also has 104 tackles on defense.
WR Doyle Flory: Flory, a senior, has emerged as Porter’s favorite target this season and has seen his production explode in recent weeks with 14 receptions for 210 yards and five touchdowns over his last three games, including two receptions for 56 yards last week against Marian Catholic. He also has three interceptions on defense.
WR Carter Troutman: The junior wide receiver is another Bulldog who has emerged over the past few weeks. Since the start of October, Troutman has totaled 11 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns.
LB Robert Schwartz: While Schwartz will also be Tri-Valley’s No. 2 back most likely on Friday, his biggest contributions will come defensively, where he has 131 tackles this season.
LB Ty Troutman: The junior linebacker is third on Tri-Valley this season with 72 tackles.
Williams Valley Players to watch
RB Fletcher Thompson: One of the district’s top running backs, Thompson has 232 carries for 1,948 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, to go along with eight receptions for 92 yards. He has 10 games of 100-plus yards this season, and the only game he failed to go over the century mark in was the Vikings’ win over Marian Catholic, in which he suffered a first-half injury and was kept out for the rest of the game as a precaution. Defensively, Thompson is just as impactful with 75 tackles and nine tackles for loss.
RB Cole Hubler: The sophomore running back’s importance within the offense has continually grown over the season, and he’s quietly put together a phenomenal campaign. He has 46 carries for 557 yards and seven touchdowns this season with three 100-plus-yard games, while also totaling 11 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown. The smaller Hubler is still a menace on defense as well with 90 tackles and two tackles for loss.
RB/LB Trevon Bair: While Bair has had a solid but unheralded season offensively with 69 carries for 493 yards and eight touchdowns, he’s been tremendous defensively with a team-leading 121 tackles and 21.0 tackles for loss.
LB Magnus Monger: Monger has been another anchor of Williams Valley’s stout defense this season with 73 tackles and 12.0 tackles for loss, including two sacks.
OL/DL Koen Zilinski: A key two-way lineman for the Vikings, Zilinski this season has 53 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack, while also recording 10 pancake blocks on offense.