NEW KENSINGTON - In high school football, penalties often can decide the outcome of the game. Freeport found this out the hard way in a 25-14 loss at Valley Friday night.

"We can't have penalties," Freeport coach Bill Dillen said. "We had two big penalties in the second half that killed scoring drives, and we can't have that."

Freeport reached the scoreboard first when senior quarterback Bryan Zimmerman hooked up with sophomore running back Kirk Naedele on a screen pass that turned into a 51-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing kick off, Valley's Ricky Owen fumbled the ball on the 14-yard line. Freeport's Jordan Frantz fell on the ball, and, three plays later, Zimmerman took it in from three yards out with 3:07 remaining in the first half.

"We played great defense tonight. Our kids came out and played tonight and we moved the football on them," Dillen said.

Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, this is the last time they would score.

Freeport missed a 26-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

The Vikings took possession on their own 20-yard line before Senior quarterback Anthony Howell hooked up with junior wide receiver Toney Clemons, who snatched the ball from the defender's grasp. Clemons then streaked down the sideline 66 yards to the end zone, cutting Freeport's lead to 14-6 with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Dwight Shannon raced 64 yards for a score, bringing the Vikings (6-2, 6-0) to within two points with 4:44 remaining in the game. Valley attempted a two point conversion. but was denied.

Freeport (3-5, 2-4) started its next possession on its 17-yard line and was forced to punt from the 10. Valley middle linebacker Tyler Santucci partially blocked the punt, giving the Vikings the ball on Freeport's 25 with 1:39 left in the game.

Howell took the ball down the right side of the field, met a wall of Freeport defenders and reversed direction, dashing 20 yards down the left sideline for the score.

This gave the Vikings their first lead of the game at 18-14 with less than one minute to go.

Freeport immediately turned the ball over when Zimmerman threw a desperation pass that was picked off by Valley senior defensive back Victor Ferrante.

This gave the Vikings the ball back on Freeport's 13-yard line with only 37 seconds left.

Howell hooked up with junior wide receiver Madison Harvey for a 13-yard score to bring the score to 24-14. The Vikings converted their only extra point, accounting for the final score to 25-14.

"I'm proud of our guys," Dillen said. "Everybody said that this team was going to beat us by 30 points. Our kids came out and played tonight."

"We just found a way to win," Valley coach Troy Hill said. "Some people will say that we shouldn't have went for that last one, but we're just trying to find out about our team."

Freeport defeated the Vikings last year and Hill said Valley had a score to settle.

"I learned some something about our team tonight. We had some guys dig down deep. You know they beat us last year. Freeport stopped us and we had something to prove," he said.

This win clinches at least a share of the conference championship for Valley, which faces Burrell next Saturday night in a matchup of heated rivals.

Valley quarterback Anthony Howell finished the night with a rushing touchdown, two passing touchdowns and 191 yards. Valley running back Dwight Shannon added 117 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.