Published: Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009 12:12 AM

Lancaster 7, Spring Valley 6

LANCASTER -- Talk about taking ‘bend but don't break’ to the limit.

Lancaster defeated Spring Valley 7-6 in the Region 4-AAAA regular-season finale for both teams on Friday. The Bruins used four second-half stops in their own territory to pull out the victory. With the win, Lancaster (7-4, 2-3) all but secured a road game in next week's playoffs.

So nothing is broken quite yet.

“It's a win, and we're in the playoffs -- somewhere,” Lancaster coach Bennie McMurray said. “That's all that matters at the point. It's what we practice for. We're in the third part of the season now.”

Spring Valley milked most of the first quarter with a 10-play drive on its opening possession. Kevin Knapp capped the drive with a 19-yard field goal. After a Kevin Curry interception, the Vikings worked another 11 plays. Knapp converted a 39-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead.

What Knapp gave, he took away. Lancaster's Shaq Williams returned the ensuing kick to the Spring Valley 35-yard line, and a facemask by Knapp added 15 yards. From there, Timar Campbell rushed six consecutive times, the last a 3-yard TD with 11:09 left in the first half. Campbell finished with 23 carries for 78 yards.

“That turned the tide of the game,” McMurray said. “Special teams have been good to us this year.”

Spring Valley (2-9, 0-5) tried to retake the lead before intermission. The 11-play drive, highlighted by an 8-yard fake-punt run by Jaryll Parsons, pushed to the Bruins 10-yard line with 14.3 seconds left.

The Vikings committed a false start, however, and Lancaster's Devonte Massey sacked quarterback Austin Hill on the following play. Spring Valley had no timeouts left, and time expired. Despite a 189-45 advantage in total yards for the Vikings, the Bruins had the lead at halftime.

Spring Valley drove into Lancaster territory four times in the second half, but the Bruins defense held on each occasion. Lancaster forced a punt with 2:44 remaining, but the Vikings once again came up with a stop on fourth-and-1.

The Bruins defense held tight one more time, however, forcing four straight incomplete passes to punch their ticket to the postseason.

“That was big because of the momentum shift,” McMurray said. “Our defense came up with the plays. Defense wins championships, and you have to have it to win.”

LANCASTER 7, SPRING VALLEY 6

Spring Valley.....6.....0.....0.....0.....--.....6

Lancaster.....0.....7.....0.....0.....--.....7

SCORING SUMMARY

SV -- Kevin Knapp 19 FG

SV -- Knapp 39 FG

L -- Timar Campbell 3 run (Alex Roach kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

.....SVHS.....LHS

First downs.....16.....4

Rushes-yards.....39-165.....41-111

Comp-Att-Int.....15-35-0.....0-5-1

Passing yards.....142.....0

Fumbles-lost.....0-0.....1-1

Penalties-yards.....13-95.....1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Spring Valley: Austin Hill 7-50, Randall Lawyer 20-77, Markese Mason 4-15, Dwayne Dueckett 3-15, Baylen Blocker 1-3, Kadrick Thompson 3-8, Jaryll Parsons 1-8, Tobias Young 1-(-11). Lancaster: Campbell 23-78, Brandon Reese 10-22, Matt Reese 7-1, Zed Truesdale 1-0.

PASSING -- Spring Valley: Hill 14-33-0, 126 yards, Dueckett 1-2-0, 16 yards. Lancaster: Reese 0-5-1, 0 yards

RECEIVING -- Spring Valley: Young 6-68, Leroy Coad 6-59, Andrew Levy 2-19, Lawyer 1-0.

RECORDS -- Spring Valley 2-9, 0-5 Region 4-AAAA; Lancaster 7-4, 2-3