Hospitalized Valley player returned to the sidelines Saturday after a dramatic injury halted the game
By: James Archer, Online Editor / Staff Writer
The Valley College football team’s loss to Santa Monica drops its record to 1-4 with the team’s lone win coming from a forfeit from Pierce College’s after the former rivals failed to field a team.
Santa Monica College defeated Valley College 42-14 Saturday, but the game came to a standstill when Monarch receiver Amare Rhodes was carted off the field.
Rhodes was taken by ambulance to Holy Cross Medical Center after he was tackled by two Corsair defenders during the first quarter. The freshman caught a 27-yard pass from quarterback Reilly Brousseau but did not get up after the play.
For 10 minutes, Monarch Stadium fell silent. Valley players took a knee together, with some holding back tears and others praying quietly. Coach Lester Towns told the Valley Star Monday that Rhodes returned to the team Saturday night after a CT scan came up negative.
"He got released that evening after a couple different tests," said Athletic Director Dave Mallas. "Thankfully it was only a concussion."
Rhodes will be off the field for the remainder of the week, congruent with concussion protocol.
"He seems to be good. He's a tough kid," reassured Mallas.
Before the injury, Santa Monica took a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by Jack Malloy following an interception by the Corsairs.
After Rhodes' injury, Valley lost 16 yards but managed to score on a 26-yard pass play when Brousseau found Kenneth Monroe Jr. in the end zone. The score put Valley ahead 7-3 with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
The Monarchs’ lead was brief.
Santa Monica scored on a 3-yard run and turned a Valley fumble into an 8-yard touchdown pass to take a 16-7 lead by the end of the opening quarter. A botched Valley punt resulted in a second-quarter safety, and Santa Monica’s Issac Andrews returned the next kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and a 25-7 lead.
Valley missed two second-quarter field goals and were unable to cut into Santa Monica’s lead before the half. Defensive back Patrick McBride returned an interception 64 yards right before the break but a 56-yard penalty erased the score. Santa Monica put the game out of reach in the third quarter, shutting down Valley’s offense and scoring two touchdowns to make the score 42-7.
Valley scored once more in the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Chase Everett threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Monroe to make the final score 42-14. The loss dropped Valley to 1-4 on the season and head to College of the Desert for a 6 p.m. kickoff for their first Western State Conference contest.
“Right now, it’s all about getting better.” coach Lester Towns said. “Since we start conference next week it’s all getting ready and make sure we show up on Monday ready to practice and prepare for conference games.”
Staff Writer Joshua Kahn contributed to the story.
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