SOUTH POINT - Locked into a close game where both teams were moving the ball on the ground, it was a few key passes that secured the win for the South Point Pointers.

On a cool October night, South Point (3-6, 2-2) used a relentless running attack, swarming defense and a few big plays in the passing game to earn a 14-7 win over the River Valley Raiders (6-3, 1-3) Friday.

The Raiders were held to minus-1 passing yards and 131 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, the Pointers rolled out 259 total yards, setting up the pass by pounding the ball on the ground.

"This is a good win for us. (River Valley) Coach (Gregg) Deel and his staff did a great job. Their kids are well-coached and disciplined," South Point coach Dan McDavid said. "It was a total team effort. Just a good, solid football game by both teams."

River Valley started the first quarter in South Point territory after returning the opening kickoff 51 yards. It didn't matter, though, because the Pointers defense forced a punt four plays later.

South Point got the ball moving quickly with a 12 play, 80-yard drive on its first possession.

Senior backs Caleb Copley and Chris Chapman loosened up the defense with hard running inside. That helped junior quarterback Tommy Hayner to complete his first two passes including a 40-yard strike to sophomore Josh Rickard. Copley finished things off with a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0 in favor of South Point.

On its next possession, the Raiders again drove into Pointers territory, but this time fumbled the ball away on fourth down.

To start the second quarter, South Point went back to the ground attack, but the Pointers came away empty handed after a missed field goal from 37 yards. Once again, South Point's defense played well and forced a three and out.

The Pointers didn't let the good field position go to waste after they caught a break when River Valley was called for roughing the kicker on a missed field goal. On the next play Tommy Hayner threw a quick 10-yard touchdown pass to Justin Workman to make the score 14-0 at the half.

Missing two key starters on the offensive line and in the backfield, McDavid said the key to getting the offense going was the blocking up front by everyone.

"They have a pretty good defense. I don't think we ran it easily," he said. "Our kids worked for every inch we got."

As the third quarter got started, South Point kept the ball on the ground, chewing up yards and the clock, but was forced to punt.

With the offense beginning to click, River Valley got on the move again, but Seth Craft came up with his second interception of the night. His biggest play, however, was still to come.

The fourth quarter began with the Raiders driving again. Josh Wamsley scored on a 3-yard run to make the score 14-7 with nearly 10 minutes remaining. Each team possessed the ball another time but could not capitalize on the opportunity.

So, with less than four minutes in the game South Point faced a third and 15 near midfield. Desperately needing to get a first down and keep the clock ticking, Hayner found Craft down the right sideline for a 20-yard gain that essentially sealed the victory for the Pointers.

"Tommy threw a good ball and Seth came up with a big catch. It was a good pattern," McDavid said. "Seth does an excellent job on both sides of the ball. He had two interceptions, a key reception and he was open for a touchdown but Tommy didn't see him."

River Valley coach Greg Deel said he was disappointed with the way his team came out to play in the first half and that by the time they got going it was too late.

"This is the first time all year that we were not ready to play. I don't know why," Deel said, with the disappointment evident on his face. "We had a chance to go to the playoffs. With only two games left they should be excited, but we weren't ready."

River Valley0000-7

South Point 7700-14

First Quarter

SP - Caleb Copley 1 run (Zane Joy kick good) 3:59

Second Quarter

SP - Justin Workman 10 pass from Tommy Hayner (Zane Joy kick good) 0:58

Fourth Quarter

RV - Josh Wamsley 3 run (Derrick Smith kick good) 9:49

First downs: River Valley 7, South Point15

Rushes-yards: River Valley27-132, South Point46-163

Passing yards: River Valleyminus-1, South Point96

Total yards: River Valley 131, South Point259

Cmp-Att-Int: River Valley 1-8-2, South Point7-13-0

Fumbles-lost: River Valley1-1, South Point1-0

Punts-average: River Valley 2-20.5, South Point 3-27

Penalties-yards: River Valley5-45, South Point 6-55

Individual Leaders

RUSHING - River Valley: Joey Graham 15-60, Riley Rice 4-38, Charley Nibert 3-24, Josh Wamsley 5-10. South Point: Caleb Copley 24-92, Chris Chapman 12-49, Justin Workman 6-20, Tommy Hayner 4-2.

PASSING - River Valley: Joey Graham 0-6-2 0, Josh Murphy 1-2-0 minus-1. South Point: Tommy Hayner 7-13-0 96.

RECEIVING - River Valley: Joey Graham 1-minus 1. South Point: Josh Rickard 1-40, Seth Craft 1-20, Chris Chapman 2-19, Justin Workman 2-14, Caleb Copley 1-3.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: South Point: Zane Joy two 37 yard attempts