Explosive Nettleton flattens Valley View By Ben Cowens, Sun staff writer JONESBORO — On a cold and windswept Friday night, Valley View's senior football players were among those honored during a pregame ceremony at Blazer Field. But it was a Nettleton senior who made sure there would be no postgame celebration for the home team. Nettleton quarterback Jaylin Small rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 145 yards and three more in last night's 42-6 Raider win over the Blazers. It was the type of performance Small has been producing with regularity for Nettleton this season, and it's the type of performance Valley View coach Sean Cockrell warned was possible. "It's tough. I talked about it during the week, (Small) makes plays," Cockrell said. "Those guys make plays over there." Small opened the scoring with an electric 73-yard touchdown run just 2:45 into the game. Three Valley View defenders were waiting for him as he raced left, so Small retreated and reversed field. He sprinted away from the pursuit, turned upfield and bolted through a small opening in the collapsing defense. Small raced the final 55 yards untouched. "It's tough and frustrating for a defense," Cockrell said. "When you've been pretty decent all year and guys you expect to make tackles are falling down and slipping off. It's frustrating for everybody." Small would later add a 71-yard touchhdown in the third quarter, and he threw touchdown passes to Stanley Wilson (9 and 38 yards) and Colby Crite (19 yards) as well. He finished the game 10-for-17 passing for 145 yards, three touchdowns and his first interception of the year. Never was the explosive nature of Nettleton's offense more obvious than a two-play, 61-yard drive just before halftime. Leading just 14-6 and faced with the prospect of giving the ball back to Valley View to start the second half, the Raiders took the ball with 24 seconds remaining. Coach Steve Hampton played it conservative on first down, but running back Joe Frazier turned an inside handoff into a 23-yard run. Then with 9 seconds left, Small lofted a perfect 38-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Wilson, who raced past the Valley View secondary to catch the ball in stride as he crossed the goal line. "We thought we could get behind them and throw over the top," Hampton said. "We took a shot and Stanley went and got it and made a great play on it." That 22-second drive turned out to be a crushing blow. Valley View had just completed a 14-play, 70-yard odyssey that shaved more than seven minutes off the clock. Quarterback Jackson McNabb punctuated the march with a slant pass to Tucker Hydrick, who raced across the middle and with a dive beat the Nettleton defense to the corner of the end zone. The extra point was blocked, but Valley View (3-6, 2-4 5A-East) had seized momentum and seemed destined to come out in the third quarter with a chance to tie the game. Instead Nettleton responded with an unlikely touchdown, and the Valley View offense sputtered in the first drive after halftime – and every drive thereafter. Led by rugged linebacker duo Mitch Sandborn and Christian Hightower, Nettleton held Valley View to 73 second-half yards and 185 yards for the game. "I challenged our defense (at halftime) to get us some stops and get us the ball back more to give us some more opportunities, and they did that," Hampton said. "We were able to convert and makes some plays. "They're just continuing to get better. … When their back's against the wall they come up with a stop. They find ways to make plays. I'm proud as heck of them. They've played really well." Added Cockrell: "I hate it for our kids that they didn't get that opportunity (to win) tonight, but they were the better team tonight. They beat us all over the field." Valley View sophomore Gannon Winstead was the major bright spot for the Blazers. He finished with 106 yards on 21 carries. He ripped off runs of 10, 17 and 19 yards to help Valley View stay competitive in the first half. In many ways the Blazers did what they had to in an effort to spring the upset. They won the turnover battle — thanks to Zac Despain's interception of Small. They also controlled the clock and forced Nettleton into long drives. But Valley View allowed too many big plays. Small had a 26-yard run on the second drive of the half. Joe Frazier added a 20-yard run on the next drive, which ended in Crite's 19-yard catch that made it 14-0. In all the Raiders had nine plays go for at least 18 yards, including Small's 71-yard sprint in the third quarter to make the score 28-6. Wilson, who has 12 receiving touchdown on the season, finished with four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. His 9-yard catch in the third quarter made it 35-6. Frazier added his only touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run up the middle midway through the fourth quarter. The loss eliminated Valley View from playoff contention and pushed Nettleton (7-2, 5-1) into a winner-take-all game for second-place in the 5A-East nex