Valliere catches on at slot
By: Bob Davidson, Salina Journal

The pass — a tight spiral from quarterback Drew Dallas — appeared to be headed for Steven Valliere’s awaiting arms as he sprinted toward the southwest corner of Salina Stadium.

The brisk north wind buffeting the field had other ideas and redirected the ball’s path, something akin to a slider thrown by a major league pitcher.

“The ball looked like it was coming initially right to me, but it started floating,” said Valliere, a senior slot back. “It floated over to my right and I went around, made a catch on it and took off.”

Untouched and into the end zone. The 60-yard toss-and-catch was the only touchdown of the day during Kansas Wesleyan’s annual spring scrimmage.

Saturday’s 60-play scrimmage was the Coyotes’ 10th and final practice session of their spring workouts.

The offense prevailed over the defense 45-39 — three points were awarded each the offense got a first down, three points each time the defense held the offense without a first down, six points for a touchdown and six points for a turnover (there were none).

Valliere’s play was significant after his move to slotback this spring. He played tailback last season and rushed for 496 yards on 125 carries and four touchdowns.

But KWU coach Dave Dallas and his staff felt Valliere would be more valuable catching the ball, as he showed Saturday.

“He’s going to be pretty explosive out there,” Dallas said.

Valliere, a native of Redding, Calif., and a transfer a year ago from Shasta (Calif.) College, caught nine passes for 105 yards last fall for Wesleyan.

“I really do like this move,” Valliere said. “You don’t get beat up as much as you do at running back. I’ve had a toll taken on my body. It’s been a nice change.

“Before I played running back I did some wide receiver. It’s a change back to one of my old positions.”

Valliere said his work with Drew Dallas last year has helped with the transition.

“He’s know I’m going to go up and make a play and do whatever I can to help the team,” Valliere said. “We do have a trust and I hope we continue to build on that trust because I’ll be ready to catch that ball whenever he throws it this way.”

Outside of Valliere’s heroics, it was a tough day for the offense, especially the running game.

“Defensively, we stopped the run real well,” Dallas said. “I was very pleased with our tempo and effort defensively.”

The ground game was hampered by a string of injuries to the team’s tailbacks. Returning starter Preston McCorkle, who will be a senior in the fall, didn’t participate in spring drills after undergoing knee surgery but will be ready when camp opens in August.

Backup tailback Rodney Cooper, who had a strong spring campaign, suffered a knee injury during Friday’s practice and was on crutches Saturday. Another tailback, Tommy Horacek, suffered a dislocated ankle on a play midway through Saturday’s session.

“That’s part of spring football,” Dallas said.

Dallas, who enters his 12th season at Wesleyan and is the dean of Kansas Conference coaches, said he isn’t too concerned with the offense’s struggles.

“That consistency and those things offensively are going to get there,” he said. “You can’t get there in the short amount of time that we have. That comes with timing. When you have only 10 hours of work, that makes it difficult.”

Overall, Dallas was pleased with what he saw.

“It’s been a really good spring. I think we got some things done, the kids had great attitudes. It’s night and day from where we’ve been,” he said.

The Coyotes open the 2008 season against Bethel on Sept. 13, in North Newton.

-- SJ --