Ray Brewer
The Green Valley defensive line takes a picture with the Henderson Bowl after beating rival Basic 24-10 on Sept. 22, 2022.
Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 | 10:30 p.m.
The Green Valley football team’s defense had five interceptions tonight against rival Basic in the Henderson Bowl.
The first was returned for a touchdown by Nate Richter in the first half. The last by Blayne Reiner in the fourth quarter put the final touches on a 24-10 victory.
Just like that, a four-game losing streak to open the season was over. What timing.
“It’s a great experience and great feeling running over there after the game to get the trophy,” said senior linebacker Tyler Eenhuis, who had a handful of key tackles in limiting Basic to three points in the second half.
The most significant turnover Green Valley forced came on special teams when it recovered a fumble on a punt inside the Basic 15-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter. A few plays later, Justyn Delzeit connected with Trey Glasper for a score and two-touchdown advantage.
The defense did the rest, helping the Gators overcome nearly 200 penalty yards in a game that featured high emotions on both sides. Even a lineman — junior Gavin Blondeaux — had an interception.
“This is crazy. I have never seen anything like this,” Green Valley coach Clay Mauro said of the intensity rivalry.
Mauro sensed his team would be ready when logging onto their online film app during the week. Many players had logged multiple hours nightly studying Basic’s formations.
“I can’t believe that hard work and effort they put in this week,” said Mauro, Green Valley’s first-year coach who won his first career game tonight.
Green Valley had a tough preseason schedule with two games against California schools and another against perennial local power Arbor View. Aside from an ugly loss to class 4A Coronado, Mauro sensed his team would be in position to finish strong.
A Henderson Bowl win is surely nice start. This was the 30th edition of the rivalry dating back to 1991, when Green Valley opened as Henderson’s second high school.
And tonight, it’s Green Valley that is again the city champion.
“We had a great week of practice. Every play, we thought we knew what they were doing,” Eenhuis said.
