Korie Frausto heats up to help Maize South beat Valley Center

Valley Center held Maize South quarterback Korie Frausto to a pedestrian 43 rushing yards, 24 passing yards and a single touchdown in the first half Friday night.

The Hornets’ containment didn’t last long, though, as Frausto busted loose for a 77-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter as Maize South beat Valley Center 35-16. Maize South improved to 6-1 overall, 1-0 in Class 5A-District 7.

Frausto scored three rushing touchdowns, finished with 203 rushing yards on 20 carries and also connected with Jordan Maxson on a touchdown pass.

“They have the most talented guy in the state, in my opinion, and it just took a toll on us by the end of the game,” Valley Center coach Caleb Smith said.

“We did a really good job (defensively) in the first half. They didn’t give him a whole lot of carries.… He’s so fast. We can’t simulate that in practice. You can’t get ready for that. He’s just so talented no matter what you do.”

Frausto’s first touchdown, which put Maize South up 7-3, was a 28-yard run where he ran left, juked out one defender and outraced the rest. On the previous play, he had been sacked by Valley Center’s Sam Weldon and Don Boone for a four-yard loss.

The second touchdown, with 6:54 remaining in the third quarter, went for 77 yards and followed a one-yard loss by Jacob Perez. Perez finished with 122 rushing yards.

“It was just the adjustments we made,” Frausto said. “Instead of going more vertical inside, we just made sure we bounced it out and got the key block outside.”

Five minutes later, Frausto scored his third touchdown on a 25-yard run to cap an 11-play drive for the 21-3 lead.

And less than two minutes into the final period, Frausto rolled right looking for space. When he realized he had no room to get up field, he changed direction and found a wide-open Jordan Maxson in the end zone.

“It’s a play that makes us look smart,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s really just having some great athletes on the field, and Jordan finding some space, calling for the ball and making himself visible to Korie.”

Maize South had some defensive issues early, as Valley Center took its first two drives inside Maize South’s 20. On the first drive, the Hornets went nine plays before Maize South stopped them on downs following two incomplete passes.

On the second possession, Valley Center drove to the Maize South 6, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Aaron Coash for the game’s first points early in the second quarter.

“I thought we had a good first half,” Smith said. “We left some points on the field we should have had. That first drive, if we had put that in, it would have helped us a lot.… Driving 40, 60 yards doesn’t do you any good if you don’t score.”

Valley Center quarterback Wyatt Lange threw for 196 yards, but Maize South held the Hornets to 35 rushing yards. Maize South senior Max Kubik had two sacks for minus-20 yards in a three-play span in the fourth quarter.

“We just did a great job up front,” Maize South senior AJ Nardi said. “… The defense as a whole is just a great unit.”

A Maize South fumble and a blocked punt led to two Valley Center touchdowns in the final minutes.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 7:27 AM with the headline "Korie Frausto heats up to help Maize South beat Valley Center."