VALLEY HEAD – Valley Head’s defense dominated Gaylesville, as it limited the Trojans to 80 yards of total offense and recorded two safeties in a critical 23-0 Class 1A, Region 6 win Friday night in Valley Head.

The win was the Tigers’ second in a row, but more importantly kept Valley Head in the running for the fourth and final playoff spot out of Region 6. Next week, Valley Head welcomes Collinsville in one of the strongest rivalries in DeKalb County.

This year, the winner goes to the playoffs and the loser fails to qualify.

“Our goal was to win three in a row,” Valley Head coach Heath Kirby said. “We have Collinsville next week, and if we win, we’re in.”

First, though, Valley Head (3-5, 3-3) needed to take care of Gaylesville (3-5, 2-4). That didn’t take long.

With 4:13 left in the first quarter, Valley Head’s Zack Foster made a tackle in the end zone to put the Tigers up 2-0.

With less than a minute to go in the first quarter, Andrew Cooper reeled off a 16-yard touchdown run. But, Valley Head wasn’t finished.

With 5:45 left to go in the half, quarterback Greg Blansit connected with Alex Johnson on a 42-yard touchdown pass. Then, with 2:01 left in the half, Gerald Bradberry again tackled a Trojan runner in the end zone for another safety.

Valley Head iced the win early in the fourth quarter when Blansit hit Jacob Baine with a 6-yard TD pass.