Eldorado edges Valley in last-minute thriller

Eldorado scored three touchdowns in the final six minutes Friday, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with four seconds left, then survived a long kickoff return to its own 15 to beat host Valley 32-30.

Trailing 24-11, Sundevils receiver Amartae Butler picked up a fumble by his quarterback Jaime Rangel and ran an aditional nine yards for a score, to bring Eldorado (2-5, 2-0 Northeast League) within a touchdown at 24-18. After Valley went three-and-out, Butler struck again, bringing in Rangel’s deep pass for a 47-yard touchdown and a 25-24 lead.

Valley (1-6, 0-2) answered when Leyland Crawford hauled in his first pass of the game on the first play from scrimmage to get the ball to the Sundevil 25. Crawford then caught a 27-yard touchdown two plays later with just 55 seconds remaining, as Valley went up 30-25.

After a Rangel run, an Andres Jiminez reception and a personal foul penalty brought the Sundevils to the Valley 10-yard line, the defense stiffened, setting up Rangel’s TD pass to Silva on fourth down.

Crawford then took a lateral from Iyen Madlock deep into Sundevil territory on the ensuing kickoff before being caught at the 15 as time expired.