Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Jake Valley
School: Peters Township
Year: Senior
Sport: Soccer
Valley’s week: The defender responsible for the Indians’ accountability on the back end, Valley led Indians in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Lower Dauphin in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals. Peters Township did not allow a shot in the game and shut down one of the better offensive attacks in the state. Valley also added an assist in the victory.
It was more of the same in the PIAA title game Saturday night in Hershey.
The Indians allowed only three shots in the 2-1 win over Great Valley to claim the program’s fourth state title. Against a prolific scoring attack, Valley often tracked down opposing forwards and forced them into bad decisions. He also caused several turnovers that led to counter attacks for Peters Township.
“I rewatched the game and could not believe some of the plays he was making,” Peters Township head coach Bob Dyer said. “He prevented them from having a few scoring chances by tracking down balls and his athleticism was unreal.”
Home sweet home: Valley grew up in McMurray before moving to Northwest California midway through fourth grade. He never expected to return, but kept in touch with two friends from the area who he played youth soccer with – Peters Township senior midfielders Rylen Faloni and Wes Ward.
As his junior year was progressing, Valley’s mother broke the news to him – after eight years away from Pennsylvania, they were moving back.
“It was a shock to me, but when she got the job, she told me six months before we left,” Valley said. “I had time to come to terms with it. It was sad, but when I realized I’d be back with my friends I used to play with before, it was really cool.”
When he heard the news and expected to enroll at Peters Township this fall, Valley immediately texted Ward to hear about the soccer program.
“He said they won the WPIAL Championship last year and I honestly didn’t know what that meant at the time,” Valley said. “Hearing about how good the program is and stuff like that, it was like, ‘wow, I can’t believe I’m going back to a team like that.'”
Fitting in: When the Indians gathered for preseason workouts with a dream of winning a state championship, Dyer said he met his new player and immediately saw a senior capable of filling Peters Township’s void on defense. There was a catch though – he would have to learn a whole new position.
Playing alongside seniors Sean Harrison, Josh Deyarmin and junior Kelson Marisa; Valley thrived as the unit allowed just six goals in 23 games. He is now receiving significant interest from universities in Pennsylvania and California.
“There is no parallel to the entire experience,” Valley said of winning the state title. “There’s nothing like it. At the beginning, we thought we were going to do good, so when we finally got here, it was like, ‘wow, we made it.’ It was an amazing experience and I’ll never forget it.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski