Valley Forced to Rally at West L.A., 35-34

It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult.

It wasn’t supposed to require an interception in the end zone in the final two minutes to preserve a victory.

But the Valley College football team, ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 9 in the nation in preseason polls, survived and walked away with a 35-34 decision Saturday over host West Los Angeles in the season and Western State Conference opener for both teams.

It wasn’t until cornerback Courtney Blount, a freshman from Birmingham High, picked off a pass by Whitney Jones with 1 minute 42 seconds left to play that the Monarchs could breathe a little easier.

That culminated an afternoon of comebacks for the Monarchs, who fell behind in the first half, 23-6, and trailed, 31-21, in the third quarter.

Valley finally went ahead for good when it drove 78 yards in three plays and scored on a 30-yard pass play from quarterback David Lins to receiver Eric Ruhle with 6:36 remaining.

“We have some work to do,” Valley Coach Jim Fenwick said.

One area where the Monarchs might focus on is defense. West L.A., which was 3-7 last year, rolled up 517 yards, including 345 passing, and had plenty of chances to win.

Romell Knutt, a sophomore, led West L.A.’s ground attack with 209 yards and a touchdown in 31 carries. Jones was the best of two quarterbacks for the Oilers, completing 14 of 24 for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

Lins made his debut as Valley’s starting quarterback and completed 20 of 33 for 318 yards and two touchdowns.