Up against a bigger, more experienced team in the Eagles, and some very extreme  weather conditions, the Buffs fought every inch of the way, giving special meaning to the old adage, “Leave it all on the field”.

“The fight in these kids is special,” said Forsan Head Coach Tommy Thompson. “They showed tremendous character tonight facing a tough opponent and less than desirable weather conditions to boot.”

“To make matters worse, we spotted them 40 points,” he continued. “It would have been so easy for these guys, for anyone, to have just thrown in the towel and hurried toward that warm bus just to get home.”

The Buffs kept pace early on, trailing by seven after the first quarter of play.

Eagles’ quarterback Dalton Piske took the ball in from the 1-yard line for the games first score, giving Valley Mills a 7-0 lead midway in the 1st quarter.

However, Piske, who finished the game with 145 yards rushing and three touchdowns, was just getting started.

Valley Mills racked up 26 second quarter points and Piske had a hand in all of them.

“We knew going in that their offense ran directly through the quarterback,” Thompson said. “There was no surprise in what they were going to do. I guess we sort of lost focus in the second quarter and lost sight of Piske. We really dug a hole for ourselves before the half.”

Piske found pay dirt from 24 and 29 yards on the ground and hooked up with wide receiver Erik Johnson for a 15-yard pass in the quarter. Running back Timothy Strange took a Piske handoff to end the first half scoring and crossing the goal line from four yards out.

Down 33-0 with the temperature dropping into the mid-30s and the rain beginning to pick up, the Buffs came out for the second half kickoff.

The Buffs outplayed the Eagles in the second half, outscoring them 21-7 and, in the process, reclaiming their pride and showing they did not know the meaning of the word quit.

After giving up one final score to the Eagles late in the third the Buffs owned the fourth quarter, scoring all three of their touchdowns in the final frame.

Quarterback Alex Huckabee dove in from the 1-yard line on a keeper to get the Buffs on the board, making the score 40-7 with 11:15 left to play.

After forcing the Valley Mills to punt, the Buffs drove 77 yards on nine plays as Huckabee went to the air, finding Jeremy Robbins for a 12-yard touchdown strike in the back corner of the end zone, 40-14.

Again the Buffaloes forced a punt and with less than three minutes to play, Forsan took the ball for the last time this season on their own 17-yard line.

They only needed six plays for senior Josh Daniels to plow in from the 1-yard line as time expired, capping off a sensational fourth quarter effort.

“The fourth quarter really showed what these guys are made of and summarized what their whole season was about,” said Thompson. “It was about heart and a never say die attitude. I cannot express how proud I am of what these guys accomplished and how far they have come. They have continued to build on the winning tradition we are establishing at Forsan.”

The Buffs will lose six seniors from this years area runner-up squad as Adam Bailey, Josh Daniels, Blake Grantham, James Marlow, Aaron Hughes and Michael Leal all played in their final football game for the Buffaloes.